


Across Time

by EV_Oleander



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Multi, Slow Burn, before season 8, original child character - Freeform, through season 7
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-09-13 19:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16898232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EV_Oleander/pseuds/EV_Oleander
Summary: It has been almost two years since the invasion on Earth, which has become the Coalition's base of operations. The Paladins and their allies have made small strides in the war effort by rebuilding Earth and making it a safe haven for those who have seen the atrocities of war. They have found more Alteans trapped in Galra ships while building relations between Earth and the other worlds.The biggest threat in the universe is forming and Voltron is being called to action one last time.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, Everyone! 
> 
> It's been a few years since I've written a fic but I have been wanting to try again so here I am! I had an account on Fanfiction.net but decided to roll it over here and give this a try. So I like to keep things a bit close to the chest, which is why my tags are incredibly lame but as things are revealed I'll add tags. 
> 
> Thank you for taking a chance and I hope you enjoy!

“Eighty-five.” 

A pause.

“Eighty-six.” 

Yes, this was how she was going to end.

“Eight-seven.” A longer pause. “Come on, Princess. Eighty-eight.” 

Certainly jumping between realities was better than this. Shiro had mentioned it was at least peaceful and peace sounded brilliant right now. 

“Less than…” 

“Keith!” Allura breathed out from her position on the ground and glared at him. “P a moment.” 

“Is something hurting or…” 

“Everything is hurting!” Trying to control her breaths, she sighed. “Just a moment, please.” 

Silently, he nodded and let her lay there, while he loosened his grip on her ankles and moved back a bit. Letting a moment go by, he finally questioned her, “Do you want to stop for the day?” 

Allura felt her hands over her stomach, feeling the area contract and barely loosen from its recent activity. “No, but I think working on…” She stretched out her legs and winced. “Perhaps resting would be best for right now.” 

“Maybe it was too early to start working your body back to Paladin form.” Knowing she wasn’t going to take the information well, he refused to look at her. 

“Keith,” Sitting up, she gave him a look, “We don’t have time for that. Besides, it takes time to build back my endurance, you can’t expect me to magically be in top shape again.”

“Can’t you?” While, he was never one for easy jokes, throughout the last year and a half, he had gotten easier not only on himself but the rest of the group. 

“It would be much easier, wouldn’t it?” She chuckled a bit. 

With a small smirk, he stood and held out his hand. “Come on, Hunk and Pidge wanted to talk to us about the ship.” 

“Finally.” Letting herself get pulled up by the human, Allura followed him, trying to stretch out her sore muscles in the process. “I hope it’s good news.” 

“They seemed excited.” He shrugged. “But you know, Pidge gets excited about super galactic whatever and Hunk is just happy the kitchen is up to his standards at this point, so it could be anything.” 

“It’s good they enjoy what they do.” She chuckled. “Shall we go see?” 

Giving a nod, Keith led the way towards the shipping area. They passed a few members of the Garrison and gave them a brief greeting before moving on to the seeing the two they had just been talking about earlier. Along with Matt and Sam, who were discussing something with Pidge. Loudly. 

“You don’t understand!” Pidge was trying to get the other two to focus. “The stabilizers…” 

The conversation went on as Keith and Allura approached. Hunk was the first to notice them coming forward and looked relieved they were able to break the tension. 

“Hey guys!” Hunk interrupted the Holts. “Ready to tour the new quarters?” 

“Not if you’re busy.” Keith glanced at the family. 

“We’re just working on some of the quirks of the new system.” Sam shrugged. “You all go on ahead.” 

“Wait!” Pidge insisted. “You have to get that the velocity at which we go into hyper speed on this ship is exponentially different than the Castle of Lions.” 

“We’re not saying we doubt you, Pidge,” Matt said. “But we have to figure out how to add them without overloading the ship.” 

“Come on.” Hunk motioned for them to follow him. “This is going to take too long.” 

Allura couldn’t help but smile at the family very passionately arguing their points and taking note how some things never change. Despite Pidge growing an inch or so and her hair growing out a bit more, only for her to constantly put it up, she had stayed true to her intellectual nature and having her family around her increased it. The only person to truly calm down the Holts was the matriarch of the family. 

“Should they be arguing about… whatever they were arguing about this close to ship off?” Keith asked as the threesome entered the ship. 

“You know they’re like the smartest people ever, right?” Rolling his eyes, Hunk stopped himself from saying more.

“You were too afraid to ask, weren’t you?” Keith asked.

“Dude, so afraid.” Hunk admitted as they came into the living quarters of the future crew of the Atlas. “I’m seriously surprised they haven’t started throwing wrenches at each other.” 

“What on Earth has got them so worked up?” Appalled, Allura was unsure if she should go back out there to separate them.

“I have no idea.” Hunk shrugged and then looked around the space. “Alright, so instead of just having bedrooms, we’re going to have suites basically. So each of us will have a bedroom and share a common space with three other crew members.” 

“Really?” Popping her head into the first suite, Allura glanced around. “This is wonderful!” 

“Isn’t it great?” Agreeing, Hunk showed them around the first one. “While you can’t really cook in the kitchen area here, you can store some snacks and stuff. There are also private bathrooms instead of having the shared spaces, of course, there’s public ones throughout the ship.”

“Aren’t these taking up a lot of unnecessary space?” While Keith liked the idea of having his own retreat, it seemed slightly excessive. “Shouldn’t we be more focused on having a workout area or refugee space?” 

“We have both actually.” Hunk informed. “Plus the suites can convert themselves into large rooms by merging the suites together if we really need it. But even if we have overflow, the commons spaces in the suites will basically do that.” 

“Will everyone be required to take a tour?” Allura asked.

“That’s the plan!” Hunk nodded. 

“Do you know who’s rooming with who?” Keith ventured.

“I know, Pidge, me, Lance and Veronica are going to share a suite.” Thinking for a moment, Hunk added. “I think Allura and Coran are sharing a suite and we’re leaving the other rooms a bit open in there. Then, you’re with Shiro for sure.” 

“It would be wonderful to have more room in our quarters.” Immediately thinking how to arrange their suite, Allura explored the space a bit more.

“Are me and Shiro with two others?” Keith prodded. 

“Um,” Suddenly looking uncomfortable, Hunk switched subjects. “You know it’s difficult to predict that stuff.” 

“So you know but you don’t want to tell me.” He said flatly. “I take it either me or Shiro isn’t going to like it.” 

“It’s just…” Thinking for a moment, Hunk tried a more diplomatic approach. “Well, it’ll be more difficult for Shiro than you.” 

Releasing a sigh, Keith accepted the information. “If it’s who I’m thinking, we should probably talk to him about it. Plus, we really need to talk to Shiro about the crew anyway. I don’t think he’s seen the entire roster yet.” 

“I think we should just leave it alone.” Hunk put his hands out in front of him to explain. “It’s not our place and if you want to talk to him go ahead, but it’s not really going to change how everyone is stationed.” 

“Everyone is adult, Keith,” Allura stated gently. “They’ll be fine.” 

Leaving the topic alone for a moment, Keith started again. “Okay, so where are the Lions going to go?” 

They moved on to the lion hanger. The expansive space was more than enough room for the lions and would allow for more storage if need be. Everything seemed to be larger but that brought her to a thought in her mind. 

“How is the steering of the ship?” Allura questioned. “I mean, while all of this is amazing, I remember the fight with Sendek and the Atlas’ reaction time wasn’t ideal.” 

“It’ll still be slow.” Hunk admitted. “But Pidge and Matt were able to boost the timing a little. They said they would be able to do more once we’ve been out there for a while.” 

“Pidge’s mentioned heading over to Olkarian,” Keith said.

“Yeah,” Hunk nodded. “She’s hoping they’ll be able to increase our speed in a fight.” 

“I don’t see why that’s not possible.” Allura shrugged. “I would rather be prepared for a fight than not.”

“Plus we’ll probably need to stock up on supplies by the time we get there,” Hunk added. 

“Speaking of,” Keith began to steer them towards the exit, where the Holts were still arguing over the stabilizers. “I need to check on my travel case. Shiro said they were planning on adding a seven day supply pack for everyone.” 

“That will be helpful.” Glancing at the time, Allura made her good-bye as well. “I should see if Coran is still in the dining hall and get his thoughts on the Atlas.” 

“Don’t forget to get some protein.” A needless reminder, but Keith tried.

“I won’t.” She assured.

“I’m going to try to break these guys up.” Hunk sighed.

“Good luck with that.” Keith strode in the opposite direction. 

Allura bade him goodbye and walked silently to the galley, which would no doubt be empty at this point, and found herself hungrier as she approached. As she turned the corner she noted Shiro and Coran sitting across from another speaking in hushed tones. Deciding she could wait to hear their conversation, Allura jumped at the chance to get her food from the empty cafeteria line. Grabbing a green tea and a smattering of the day’s special, she took a seat beside them. 

“I assume we have new intel?” She glanced between the two men. 

“Deciding on our direct course for when we launch.” Coran nodded. 

After a pause, she started again, “Are you going to let your crew know where we’re headed?” 

“After we name the official roster tomorrow, we’ll announce where we’re headed,” Shiro commented and answered her confused look. “Since the ship is going to be mainly an Earth-based system and larger, I’ll pilot it for the most part, along with the other Garrison members.” 

Allura took a bit out of her meal. “What happened to the Altean parts?”

“While we were able to recover much Altean engineering the main part of the Atlas still functions as an Earth creation,” Coran stated. “So we’re stuck with Earthling technology until then.” 

“Stuck?” Shiro raised a brow.

“Well, you know…” Coran shrugged. “Your technology is a bit farther behind and without Pidge’s father the ship would not be nearly as advanced as it is.” 

“I’m just happy we have hyperdrive on it.” Allura sighed and perked a bit more. “The living quarters are very nice though. Plenty of room this time.” 

“We were able to take into account for any refugees this time around,” Shiro explained. “Especially since we’ll need it according to the reports.” 

“Enough room for any little ones to be running around without their parents having to look out for them,” Coran added. “I’m sure that will be a relief.” 

“I’m sure.” Taking another bit of her food, Allura decidedly felt better. “What did the Garrison say about shuttling people to Earth if need be?” 

“They’re open to it.” Shiro nodded. “They have to make sure they have settlements in time and enable cultural training but since the invasion left space open, the generals weren’t concerned for allowing more Beings to come.” 

“Good.” Having settled that, she hesitated with the next question. “Hunk said we’ll be ready in a few days, when will we have to debrief?” 

“Probably within the next few days or so.” He answered. “Krolia sent Keith some new information and a rendezvous point to begin talks with the Blades again.”

“I’m sure a lot has changed.” Only being able to think about the challenges ahead, Allura leaned back in her chair. 

“It’s been almost two years since we came to Earth and that’s not even accounting for the 3 years of the disappearance.” Coran pointed out softly. “Many things have changed with the universe and the team.” 

Allura took in the information and then asked. “Do you know who we’re taking from the Garrison?” 

“Many of the people who fought against Sendek,” Shiro said. “So there’s Iverson, Sam Holt will come along and Veronica McClain, of course.” 

“Lance’s sister?” Allura smiled, having been around the woman every now and again. 

“Yeah.” Nodding, Shiro explained. “She’s going to be perfect on our team.” 

“She will.” Coran agreed.

“What about Griffin’s team?” Allura inquired. “They’ve been working incredibly hard and would be an asset to have on the ship.” 

“We need forces on Earth.” Shiro sighed. “I know they’re going to try and fight it at the hearing tomorrow but I think we’re going to need more back-up than we think here.” 

“And like Shiro said,” Coran apparently also concurred. “We’re going to have a fairly large crew as it is.”

“True.” Allura nodded. “It would make me feel better to have warriors like them here. Will they be training more troops on the fighter jets?” 

“That’s what they said.” Sipping his coffee, Shiro went on. “I think if we frame it to them as giving them a higher position to do that, it’ll give them something to look forward to.” 

“Meaning you want to use them as a surprise attack?” She guessed. 

“I think that would be the best use of them, yes.” Seeing the look on her face, Shiro tried to placate her. “I know we disagree on this but it would be better to have Earth covered and build up our troops so we can actually use them when we need them over barging into the universe trying to create peace with war machines.” 

“I disagree on the very fact that Earth should go back to its peaceful ways and become a haven rather than a base.” She argued.

“Everyone has been dragged into this if we like it or not, Princess,” Coran told her quietly. “They need to fight for themselves as well now.” 

“But we have refugees here.” Clearly not going to let it go, Allura tried to make her point. “They should have peace.” 

“They will,” Shiro said. “But they will also have the choice to fight back.” 

“Hopefully, that choice won’t be necessary soon.” Allura sighed. 

“That is all of our hopes, Allura.” Gently as he could, Shiro wanted to make the idea of peace a possibility. They let that settle around them for a moment before Shiro stood, declaring the impromptu meeting finished, “Regardless, we’re stronger and more equipped for the times ahead. We’re not rushing into it like greenhorns.” 

Allura and Coran gave him a stare. While having spent a lot of time on Earth, colloquialism still eluded them at times. 

“You mean…” Allura tried. “Like newbs?” 

“Good enough.” Shiro nodded and waved over his shoulders. “See you tomorrow.” 

“Night.” Allura called back, and then quietly said, “He seems much better.” 

“He’s had time to recover, as we all have.” Coran agreed and looked to the Princess. “Allura, you know it’s going to be difficult going back out there.” 

“With all the information we have gathered,” feeling a wave of exhaustion come over her, Allura made her way out of the cafeteria, “I’m under no impression otherwise but we all must face our reality sometimes even if others get in the way.” 

As he quietly followed her, Coran paused and they waved each other good night. 

Allura sighed as she walked down the hallway into her area, nodding to some of the officers of the Garrison as they passed and they did so back. Her ears perked up at the soft giggle coming from her room and she smiled a bit as she turned the corner and walked into the space.

“...and then the little piggy went we we we all the way home.” Lance sang and made the piggy cross the way, then he looked at the other Being across from him and said thoughtfully, “Although you have to wonder why the piggy wouldn’t try to free the other piggies, like why bother going back home? Maybe they forgot something.” 

A high-pitched, delighted squeal sounded. 

“Yeah.” Lance nodded. “Totally going back out and saving the other piggies.” 

“I hope this is a good Earth lesson.” Making her presence known, Allura walked further in and sat down to complete a half circle with the other two on the ground. 

“Any lesson with pigs is a good lesson.” He assured her, even though she was certain it didn’t matter. 

“And how was mum’s little star?” As she picked up the smaller being, Allura rubbed their cheeks together, getting another happy noise. “Causing enough trouble to keep things interesting, I hope.” 

“Not too bad today,” Lance answered, playing a bit with the child’s feet, getting a big grin from her. “She almost got into the armory today but luckily Shiro caught her before she did too much damage.” 

“More active lately.” Allura smiled. “It’ll be harder to catch her when she starts walking.” 

“Nah,” He shrugged, “Just more fun.” 

There was a pause as the child wiggled away from Allura and crawled back over to the stuff pigs. The two adults watched for a moment before saying anything. 

“You don’t have to watch her so much, Lance,” Allura stated quietly. “Coran, Shiro, or someone else would be happy to watch her.” 

“They get their turns.” He waved the idea off. 

That one fact did surprise Allura to learn. Lance had been the one his family turned to for support, especially when dealing with his niece and nephew. Despite his somewhat childish demeanor at times, he truly was amazing with children. 

“Shiro’s not bad.” She pointed out. 

“Yeah, I guess Keith turned out okay,” Lance smirked. “How was training?” 

“I wouldn’t mind being put into cryo-sleep right now.” Rubbing her neck and trying to stretch out the last of her muscles, she willed the pain away. 

Lance gave her a concerned face. “You shouldn’t push yourself too much. Maybe we could look for a back up for you.”

“We have to get out there soon, Lance.” Allura sighed. “With Shiro out and focused on the command of the Atlas it’s not an option for me to do nothing.” 

“What about Coran?” 

“The Lions no longer even glance at him after a mishap with cleaning solution.” 

“A new person then?” He suggested. “I mean I think Veronica would be up for it.” 

“Lance,” While it was somewhat of a joke, she knew he was concerned for her. “We work as a team and I’m not giving that up yet, especially not now.” 

His worried look didn’t go away and while he wanted to talk more, a sudden hand on his thigh caused him to look down at the tiny being looking up at him, babbling nonsensical things. A soft smile escaped him.

“Great, I’m getting scolded from two of you now.” His finger gently grazed over the dark red marks on the child’s cheek and the baby preened at the attention. 

“Before I forget,” Allura snapped both of them out of their thoughts, “Pidge and Sam want to run some tests tomorrow, something about unlocking further potential with the Lions.” 

“Great.” Letting the child settle on his lap, Lance rolled his eyes. “Red is about fed up with these tests.” 

“Red or you?” She teased.

“Definitely Red.” 

“Well, Blue can take it,” Allura commented. “Besides, I think she’s ready to start defending the Universe again.” 

“Blue or you?” He parroted back but was caught off guard when a small hand grabbed his nose. “What are you going to do with her?”

“They’re almost done with the Atlas,” Allura stated, remembering what Pidge and Hunk had shown her. “Shiro will watch her.” 

“You think that’s safe enough?” 

“She doesn’t have a better chance of staying here either,” She shrugged. “Besides she is still feeding from me.” 

“She could stay here with my or Hunk’s family,” Lance suggested. “They already love her like their own.”

“I couldn’t do that to them.” Shaking her head, Allura elaborated. “The various Galra forces will come to Earth if she stays, with us, at least she would have a fighting chance and your families wouldn’t have to endure any further interference with the Galra.” 

He took in the information silently and nodded. After a moment he said, “Do you think Haggar will come after her?” 

“I…” Allura stopped herself and sighed. “I don’t know.” 

As he was about to continue the conversation, the child stuck her hand in his mouth and giggled when he spit it out. “Ugh, Nyssa!” 

Allura had to giggle as well and decided Lance had enough torture for one day. “Alright, my star. Let’s get ready for sleep.” 

Picking up her daughter, Allura smirked at the wiggle Nyssa was doing realizing they were headed for the bathing area. For some reason, the child enjoyed water quite a bit. 

“I’m going to head out before Tsunami Nyssa hits.” Lance stood, dusting himself off. Throwing over his shoulder. “See you tomorrow.” 

“Good night, Lance!” She called back and had a piece of her hair yanked. Looking to the source, she lifted a brow. “Being cheeky again, I see. You must get that from your father.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins stand their ground through a meeting and Shiro runs into an old friend...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE COMMENTS! Seriously, I'm incredibly happy that people took the time to respond to this fun fic. Please excuse any writing issues, I really wanted to get this chapter out because TOMORROW IS THE DAY! 
> 
> Enjoy :)

Keith rubbed his eyes as he attempted to wake himself up. Being back within the walls of the garrison and back on Earth, in general, had been something to get used to. While they had to wear their old cadet uniforms at first, they were finally allowed to wear uniforms of rank after the invasion. After Earth had gotten their clothing production up and running, of course. Regardless of the captain stripes he now had, his mindset went back to when he had been younger, less restrained. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but it wasn’t great either. But after the Sendak’s invasion, things fell into place differently. 

After the invasion, Earth had become a sanctuary for much of the Alliance members who had survived the three years Voltron had been out of commission. Beings from all over the universe set up their own colonies on Earth and began to rebuild what had been lost and more. Some humans had been a bit slower to agree to the Beings but eventually, had come around to sharing the planet. The loss of the Galra invasion had been great but humans could adapt and they did, this time with new species and a shared interest in bringing peace to the universe. 

Going through the motions of being half awake, Keith made his way to the mess hall. Grabbing the coffee he never used in the past, he mulled over it a bit while taking a plate of eggs and bacon. Sitting down, he noticed the lack of occupancy within the hall but realized how early it actually was. Apparently, he really was becoming an old man. 

“This seat taken?” A voice brought him back.

“Go ahead.” He shrugged and saw James Griffin sit across from him. 

“I didn’t think you’d be up this early, Kogane.” Quirking a brow, James took a sip of his own coffee. “Getting mission jitters?” 

“No.” Taking a bite of eggs, Keith let the conversation drift. 

“Kogane,” The sharpness in James’ tone caused Keith to look up at the determined face. “I need some backup.” 

“On what?” Unable to come up with a reason, Keith waited for a moment.

“My team and I want to join the Atlas mission.” He explained. “I need you to back me up when I bring it up in the meeting today.” 

“I won’t do that.” Shaking his head, Keith went on with his side. “We need you here. The refugees need to be escorted and protected. You four are the only thing that could hold the line if need be.” 

“You need back up,” James said simply. “We can provide that for you.” 

“We don’t need it now.” Keith countered. He and the rest of the team agreed on this point. Earth had to have some kind of defense if something happened. “You and your team need to be here.” 

“What about the Lions?” There was a pause. “What if you need back up for them?” 

Keith stared at him for a moment, trying to understand what the young man was saying. Straightening a bit, Keith said slowly. “The team is full. We do not need back up.” 

“You’re going to war, Keith,” James told him. “You cannot think you’re all going to make it out alive. The likelihood…”

“You know,” Controlling his breathing for a moment from the implication, Keith stated. “You should’ve stopped at being our back up. The Lions don’t work that way. They choose you. You do not choose them.” 

Seeing he had struck a nerve, James backed off a bit. “Sorry. It’s just, we’re going to be stuck here, waiting. We won’t know if we have to get up in the middle of the night or hear the attack sirens again. I don’t want to have that hopeless feeling again. I want to prevent the attack before it even begins.” 

“James, I get it.” Keith leaned in. “But I can’t go against Shiro or Allura. If you want on the team, you have to convince them.” A pause. “Come to practice.” 

“It’s not our time.” Confused for a moment, James’ brows narrowed. 

“To understand the Lions more, I mean.” Explaining, Keith told him. “You don’t get them because you don’t know what they’re capable of, you don’t understand them. The team on the Atlas has to know how they operate. They’ve had time with them to do so. Your team hasn’t.”

Taking a breath, James agreed. “Fine.” 

After they finished the rest of their meal in relative silence, Keith and James went to the practice field to be greeted by the older members of team Atlas. 

“Keith.” Shiro nodded and saw James. “James.” 

“Sir.” James saluted. 

“James wants to know more about the Lions.” Still, under a more relaxed protocol, Keith nodded to Sam next to Shiro. 

“Okay.” Shiro quirked a brow. “Is he going to ride with you?” 

“Sure.” Keith shrugged. 

“I thought we were going to test their limits today?” Allura asked as she walked into the area, already suited. 

“We will,” Shiro stated. “But luckily it’s more of a solo training today.” 

“So if we start now, we could be the ones to leave early?” She smirked a bit.

“Nyssa get you up early?” Keith guessed.

“She preferred if I didn’t sleep last night at all.” Allura corrected. “However, Coran promised to watch her today so I will be able to sleep before the meeting since I believe we’re in agreement we don’t have to brief.” 

“Of course,” Shiro said and Keith nodded. 

“I remember those days.” Sam chuckled. 

“Yes, well, I will be happy once these days are over.” She grumbled.

“I think you’re being too hopeful, Princess.” The twinkle in Sam’s eyes told her there would be some merriment in those days but she still would’ve liked to get at least three hours of sleep. 

“Alright,” Shiro steered the conversation towards helping Allura forget her sleepless night. “James, suit-up with Keith and Allura start with the warm-ups.” 

Going to their proper locations, Allura went out on her own for a few maneuvers. Keith, knowledgeable of James’ presence, he eased into it before going all out when James made a comment about the lack of excitement. Needless to say, it caused him to shut his mouth. 

“Keith,” It was Sam’s voice coming through the comlink. “Hunk had some luck with this the other day, do you think you could let go of the controls and perhaps talk to your Lion?” 

“Like let it read my mind?” He asked and shrugged. “Sure.” 

“But make it move at the same time.” Pushing, Sam went further. “Close your eyes, take your hands off the controls and think about what you want them to do.” 

Keith gazed around the control panel, giving the piloting equipment a gentle squeeze, he said, “Alright, girl, you heard him.” Closing his eyes, Keith thought of the movements he wanted the Black Lion to go through. 

“Concentrate, Keith.” It was Shiro.

“It would be better if you didn’t cut into my ear every ten seconds.” He bit out.

“Fair enough.” 

Letting the familiarity of the Lion’s mind peek through his, Keith began to ask the Black Lion to do simple things at first, just go forward. Feeling a jerk, he knew he was succeeding. Picturing a small farmstead, the place he grew up at, he felt the lion lift off and move towards it.

“Woha!” James’ voice cut through his concentration and the Lion paused in mid-air. “Seriously, you’re not touching anything.” 

Ignoring him, Keith made the Lion turn around and land back at the base. 

“Superb!” Sam cheered. “That’s wonderful, Keith!” 

“So that’s what you mean?” James asked quietly. “The connection. You need that with not only the lions but the team.” 

“Now, you’re getting it,” Keith smirked over at him, then he called over the link. “Attack sequence?” 

“Go for it.” Shiro let it go.

After a few hours of running drills, the others woke up and began to practice a few maneuvers together before Keith and Allura were given the green light for lunch, the others complaining about being left behind. But the voice of reason let it be known the first two had been there since five that morning. Keith headed back to the sparring ring with James, while Allura headed back to her quarters to make sure Nyssa was asleep. Shiro joined her. 

“I was right yesterday. We’re going to be pushed to have more crew on the Atlas than we wanted.” Jumping right into the conversation, Shiro told Allura what had been on his mind. “Sam thinks they’re going to have James’ team try to join.” 

“Keith mentioned that James was trying to do just that before they came in.” Allura nodded. “While it wouldn’t be necessarily a bad thing to have them come with us, I agree with you, it would leave Earth defenseless. Since we’re planning on using Earth as a refugee point, we need to make sure Earth is provided with the best care.” 

“Good, that’s where my head was at as well.” Happy they were on the same page before going into the meeting, Shiro asked. “Do you want me to take this meeting so you can sleep?”

“It’s better to show a united front but I appreciate the thoughtfulness.” Her tired eyes still smiled at him. “Coran is going to have to miss the meeting but he doesn’t mind. I’m thankful to have him and everyone else.” 

“She’s adorable, Allura, of course, we would help.” Shiro nodded, then switched topics. “It’s going to be different with a bigger crew.” 

“It will be.” She agreed. “But I think, after we work out the kinks, we’ll run smoothly like before.” 

“True.” Stopping at the entrance to Allura’s quarters, Shiro told her. “Get some sleep and I’ll see you at the meeting.” 

“See you then.” 

The said meeting came quicker than any of them had anticipated and soon the future crew of the Atlas, Paladins, James’ group and a few of the generals were all in there waiting to converse on the details of the mission. It was going exactly the way Shiro had predicted, causing Allura to be glad that they had talked about it before. However, it reminded her of how tedious political type of meetings could be. 

“So you’re saying you would rather Earth not fight?” General Iverson gave the Paladins a collective once over. 

“But you’ll need back up.” General Edgewater’s brows narrowed and looked to Pidge. “You honestly can’t tell me you’re not going to need it.”

“We will,” Allura spoke. “Just not now.”

“First we have to see what we’re up against.” Shiro backed her. “Then, we will most certainly need the Garrison at some point according to our intel.” 

“Wouldn’t it be easier to travel with you so we can take advantage of your capabilities?” Another general asked, his eyes steady on Shiro.

“That won’t be a problem,” Sam interjected. “I’ve already added what I took from the Castle of Lions and added the wormhole feature to each of the transport ships we have been working on.”

“That’s where she gets it from.” Lance murmured and Pidge gave him an unimpressed face. 

“We would also prefer the element of surprise,” Allura informed. “If the Galra sees a large fleet, they will no doubt try to come here to get rid of the source. Additionally, the Galra are less formed, us coming pursuing them with a large fleet would do nothing but make them put up their defenses more and possibly rally them to create a more unified front.” 

“And we would rather Earth seem unassuming than anything else,” Keith added. 

“Plus with the invasion seventeen months ago,” Shiro started. “It would be better if Earth gave itself more time to recuperate. Build its fleet back up and let the refugees from other worlds prep themselves.”

“We’re prepared, Commander.” James Griffin spoke. “My fleet and I are ready to fight.” 

Shiro sized the four garrison privates up before speaking. “You are ready, but we need forces here ready to pilot and continue to train the rest. You four are the only ones who will be able to.” 

“We will be taking the Atlas crew.” Allura nodded. “They know how to control the ship the best and it will allow for the Atlas to fight alongside Voltron, as I’m sure we will need them to.”

“And we will be reporting at the end of each day.” Shiro continued. “For the Garrison to be aware of what is happening at all times.” 

“These transmissions will get to us at the end of the day?” A doubtful commander questioned. 

“They will.” Pidge started. “The transmission waves are at hyperspeed and we’ve also made them undetectable by Galra ships since we’ll probably need to go dark a few times.”

“And how were you able to do such a thing?” His tone said he wasn’t really believing any of this.

“Since we had so many Galra ships from the invasion,” Pidge continued. “It was easy to pick apart what the ships would pick up when others communicated. We’ve determined at least a thousand different wavelengths and languages from the ships and we were able to copy their translator into the Atlas so we will not have any issues with any message we come across.” 

“Impressive, Paladin Holt.” Another formal General nodded. 

“Thank you.” She preened a bit. 

The discussion went on for another two hours. While the mission seemed straightforward, there were the intricacies of rank, duties and the like that the Paladins only had to deal with at the beginning of the formation of the Voltron team. Now, there was a larger group coming with them to pilot an incredibly large ship. New relationships had to be formed and trust had to be established. While simulations over the past months had helped the new crew, their first mission was going to be their first test of how well the simulations worked. 

Luckily the piloting team of Atlas was quick to fall on orders from Shiro and stick to them. They were a bit slower to warm up to Coran’s orders but after two months, he had gained their respect. Although Veronica still made fun of his ‘dad jokes’, as she called them.

“If that’s all, we should adjourn.” Shiro nodded. 

“Agreed.” The other commanders noticed the time and began to make their way out of the room.

“God, I thought we would be stuck here forever.” Lance cracked his back from sitting in the chair for so long. 

“Didn’t we give them all these answers months ago?” Keith questioned. 

“Decorum dictates we prove we will follow through.” Allura sighed. “But I agree, I am a little fatigued now.” 

Shiro gazed around the room at the Atlas crew, some new members who would be working in the kitchens and… oh… a pair of eyes locked on his.

“Well, I’m going to grab something to eat.” Hunk decided. 

“Are you cooking?” Veronica asked. 

“Do you even have to ask?” Hunk teased. 

“Veronica,” Lance chastised, “Mom is cooking tonight.” 

“Ugh fine.” She relented and turned to Hunk. “You’re going to do something for the party on Saturday right?”

“Duh.” Rolling his eyes, Hunk gave her a rundown of the meal he planned as they walked out.

“Ready?” Allura caught Shiro’s shoulder.

“Commander Shirogane,” The person called to Shiro as the others were leaving. 

“Yes?” Shiro turned slightly. 

“A moment?” The golden-brown eyes stayed steady on the him. 

“Of course.” Shiro held in a sigh and felt himself become a bit more nervous than he felt he needed to be. 

“I’m going to debrief with the Paladins.” Allura walked away from the two and gave Shiro a meaningful look before fully disappearing. 

Giving himself a second to regroup, Shiro finally faced the man who he had thought about many times throughout his journey. Even though they had been on Earth for close to two years, Shiro had yet to run into him like this. Although they had only found Adam and his group of resistance fighters a few months ago, it seemed like yesterday that Shiro had seen him lying in a hospital bed with scars that had only begun to heal. 

“Well, Adam,” Shiro started. “You stayed true to your promise of not being here when I got back.” 

“Your disease is gone.” Clearly, his ex wasn’t in the mood for levity “And your body, despite its outward appearance, has regenerated itself.” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in recovery and not looking at my files?” The words spilled out before he could really comprehend them. 

“How did it happen?” Adam questioned, ignoring the Shiro. “There’s no way a body could regenerate itself like that in such a short amount of time.” 

“You’re right.” Shrugging, Shiro gave it to him. “I died.” 

A pause, before eyes, narrowed and Adam sneered, “That’s not funny.” 

“It kinda is.” 

“Takeshi.” The sharpness wasn’t wasted on the other man. “What the hell happened?” 

Giving him a long look, Shiro hung his head and sighed. “I honestly don’t know where to begin.” 

“Last time I saw you,” Adam started, “You were strapped to a medical bed after plummeting to Earth. Your hair was a mess, your arm was missing and contrived of, what we know now as Galra material and you were basically a nutcase.” A pause before. “And you still had muscular dystrophy! So if you tell me what is going on, I would really like to know!” 

“Why do you care?” Shiro’s head snapped up. “You left.” 

“That’s rich coming from you.” His eyes rolled at the accusation. 

“You literally were gone when I got back.” 

“At least one of us keeps their promise.” Adam shot back. 

Shiro closed his eyes for a moment and breathed through his nose to calm himself down. This was going nowhere and he still didn’t understand why Adam had decided to drudge all of this backup. No, that’s not true, Shiro understood. He had years and a lot of alone time to understand what had happened. Adam was catching up to that. Shiro needed to respect that, not only for the crew and the voyage but for himself and the other man. Adam deserved that much at least. 

“Sorry.” Catching on to the silence, Adam was the one to break it. “You just… you have to understand what this is like. After word got around that you and the others were dead, I... “ A breath. “I didn’t know what to do. And seeing you now is incredibly surreal.” 

“It’s strange to be back,” Shiro said, resting his hands on the back of the chair in front of him. “I thought we were all goners for sure. And when your name was on that wall and I thought you were dead…”

“Did you cry?” It was a slightly teasing tone but still held an air of inquiry that the man was so good at. 

“They told me you lasted the longest,” Shiro smirked. “I always knew you would be better in the field than the classroom or operating room.” 

A breathy snort escaped him. 

The tension in the room dropped a bit as the two men stared at each other in silence. It had been a long time, what felt like decades, but really much shorter. So much had happened between them and throughout the years but now was different. They were different people. 

“I’m still me,” Shiro stated quietly, somewhat ready to tell Adam some details. “But this body… it’s… not.” 

“Are you a robot or something?” Again a joke but also a real question. “Did the Holt girl turn you into one?”

“Not really.” Thinking of the easiest way to explain it, Shiro went for it. “When I was captured by the Galra, they cloned me.” 

His brows furrowed. “So you’re a clone of yourself.” 

“Yes.” 

Adam took in the answer and looked over the man he had once loved with everything he had. Then a strange thought occurred to him. “Why didn’t they give you your arm back?” 

“What?” That was not what he was expecting. 

“They took away your disease but they didn’t give you back your arm.” Clearly seeing something wrong with what he was saying, Adam shook his head. “Not that it makes you anything less or…” 

Shiro held up his hand to stop him. “It’s fine, Adam. We all have our injuries from this war.” 

Another silence came over them and Adam tilted his head to hide his fake right eye a bit. It wasn’t the worst injury but it was one that was much more visible and Shiro knew underneath all of his clothes, many scars littered his body. 

“Keith looks good.” Neutral topic. Now it was at least. Years ago it had been a much-discussed one. “He had run away the moment he could when you were taken. I couldn’t get through to him.” 

“He was still that way up until…” Shiro paused. “Well, I guess he still has his moments but he’s better now.” 

“I remember when he used to just sulk in his room when we told him he couldn’t come with us to Garrison meetings.” Adam chuckled, lost in the memory. 

“And he would sneak out anyway.” Shiro nodded, his eyes lit up a bit. “Remember the one time we thought he was going to stay the weekend at the barracks and he came back on Saturday?”

“Oh god,” Covering his eyes, Adam actually smiled. It had been too long since Shiro had seen that smile. “I couldn’t believe he came back the next week.” 

“I’m glad we found you.” It was somewhat of an intimate thing to say but Shiro was incredibly sincere. “And I’m sorry for the way I left.” 

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t find you.” He said quietly. “And for not understanding what you needed.” 

A moment passed between them, one of acceptance and ready to move past the hurt. While everything was not settled or completely okay, for now, they would attempt a new routine. 

“I almost forgot.” Adam was ready to turn to leave out of the room. “I’m going to be your new physician aboard Atlas.”

“What?” Cocking his head, Shiro’s eyes widened a bit. 

“I volunteered since the cryopods aren’t up to par to deal with more severe medical issues,” Adam admitted. “Plus someone has to report back to Earth in a timely fashion, I know the rest of you won’t.” 

Shiro could only smile and then pause for a moment. “Hey Adam, I know Keith would like to us all to hang out before heading out. Would you like to come over tomorrow night?” 

Giving a suspicious expression asked. “Who’s cooking?” 

“Not me.” Holding up his hands in surrender. “I think Allura and Keith are going make something.” 

Looking him over for a moment, Adam relented. “Fine. But I’ll bring over something edible so we can actually eat something.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins enjoy their last night on Earth and spend it with the people they love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about saving this chapter for Thursday, but truthfully, I wanted to give something fun to the fandom (don't worry the heartache will come later). Hopefully, this makes everyone smile! 
> 
> Also, please forgive the Spanish! I asked a few friends if what Lance says is correct and they said yes. Spanish is not one of the languages I speak well. 
> 
> Thank you again for taking the time to read this and thank you for any and all reactions!

“Hunk!” Shay’s eyes were bright with anticipation. “Your features as a child were adorable!” 

“Not only that,” Hunk’s mother, Sherri became very excitable, “But he was the best-fed kid ever!”

“Can we not look at the baby photos right now?” Shouting from the kitchen, Hunk sincerely wished they would listen to him. “We have to get the…” 

“You really need to chill, lil’ bro.” Malia slung her arm around her cousin. “Let Aunt Sherri have this, cause we’re not going to get it for a very long time.” 

“We’re not going to be gone that long, Malia.” Hunk rolled his eyes. 

“You know what I mean.” Giving him a light punch, Hunk pretended to shield himself from her. 

“Something things never change.” Kaleo eyed them coming in with the fresh salad. “Alright, everyone! We need to get this meal started!” 

They all started around the food at the table, even some of Hunk’s extended family had come to see him off, as well as Shay’s mother and brother, and they were staying for the party the next day as well. 

Spotting an empty seat at the table, Hunk gave a sad internal sigh. His little  
cousin. When he had healed enough, his father had told him what happened to Keon. While he had survived the first wave of invaders the time down in the mines had taken the toll on him. Within the first year, there was a sickness going around. Keon was one of the first to people to be buried in a nearby cave with the others who were unable to recover. They would never be able to recover the body and Hunk knew it devastated his aunts more than anyone. 

Hunk looked around at his family and how Shay held his hand beneath the table. He smiled softly. In all the time he had spent outside of Earth’s orbit, he had thought of his return. It was difficult at times to stay focused on the mission. Everyone had their talents, their traits both good and bad. But they had created their tight-knit group with respect and a deep connection, which unsurprisingly grew as they stayed on Earth. The human population had gone down a bit more with the invasion, causing many to move to untouched towns and cities. One of the largest population booms had been the city outside of main Garrison sites and his family had happily resettled near it for the time being.

They had even accepted Shay and her family fairly well. Aside from the few questions and the cross-custom acclimation, Hunk thought his family and Shay’s got along well. 

A squeeze from his hand caused him to look over at the smiling face of Shay and he could only smile back. Through the upcoming trials, this moment would make him preserve through anything. He was living for this. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++  
“Uncle Lance!” Nadia got his attention as they headed to the table with her on Lance’s back. “Tell us about the mermaids!” 

“Yeah!” Sylvio jumped up at the idea. “And the crazy planet that eats them!” 

“Don’t tell that part.” Nadia protested.

“I want him to though!” 

“Hold on you two,” Putting a stop to this right away, Lance place Nadia at her place at the table and Sylvio jumped up next to her. “I’ve told that one a thousand times already!” 

“Fine.” Sylvio pouted. “What about…” 

“I think we need to give Uncle Lance some time to relax before he leaves tomorrow.” Thankfully, Mrs. McClain knew how to distract her grandchildren. “Now, who wants some hot chocolate?”

A chorus of “Me!” resounded at the table.

“Mama!” Marco protested. “You cannot give them their dessert before dinner.” 

“For special occasions, I can.” She shrugged and moved to get the beverage. 

“Do you think we could get some of the good wine from her?” Rachel whispered to Veronica. 

“You ask her.” Veronica shook her head sitting next to Lance. “I like my head where it’s at.” 

“No wine until tomorrow!” Mrs. McClain’s shout could be heard from the kitchen. 

“Nice try.” Marco chuckled taking his place next to Rachel.

“Just wait until after the beer runs out tonight.” Mr. McClain placed some of the food from the kitchen on the table. 

“I heard that!” 

A chuckle went throughout the house and Lance took a moment and relished the feeling of comfort as everyone settled into the dinner table. They were all chatting with each other and happy. 

“Before, Lance leaves, I want to say something.” His father stood up from the table and look at his son, his eyes a bit misty. “I knew there was something different about Lance the moment he was born. He was the one who waited for everyone to cry before he would and when he got older he picked others up before himself. 

“I know you thought you were overlooked, Lance.” Lance could feel the amount of emotion coming over him as his father spoke. “But we knew you could take care of yourself before your brothers could and we are so proud of everything you accomplished. And while we would rather you take a position with the garrison here on Earth, we know you’re meant for greater things. 

“To Lance!” The toast was finished as everyone repeated. Then, his father did something he did after every meal. “Now, hold hands to pray for his safe return.” 

As his family all linked hands, Lance looked to each of his family members. Memorizing all of their faces, their intensity and how much he would miss every single one of them again. This time he would be taking pictures with him, to remember what he was fighting for, to know the love he had extended beyond the Voltron family he created. One day the universe would be more peaceful, one day he could probably even come back here and watch everyone grow up, take care of his parents as they age, do everything he could to protect them in the future. That’s what he was living for. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Yes, Pidge!” Matt bumped fists with his sister. “You know this is going to perfect!” 

“Especially, when we get into hyper speed,” Nodding excitedly, Pidge could only agree. “It will stabilize the rest of the ship even with any extra weight we may take on.” 

“You know, Matt” Rini approached them from behind, “If I wasn’t so sure, I would say you’re jealous of Pidge’s rank.” 

“Psh.” Waving it off, Matt went over to the Being wrapping his arm around their waist. “I’m just jealous Pidge gets to test this wicked mech out!” 

“Eh, you’ll get to eventually.” Pidge typed the rest of the code and sent it to the barracks. Turning the chair around to face the couple, Pidge nodded towards Rini’s stomach. “You have something more important to worry about anyway.” 

“Katie! Matt! Rini!” Colleen shout was heard into the study. “Dinner’s almost ready.” 

“Finally!” Rini smiled and turned to the door saying, “I’m not saving any of the rolls!”

The siblings laughed and Matt turned back to see Pidge smirking at him. “What?”

“Who knew you’d be a Coalition captain and a dad in the same year?” Shaking her head, Pidge stood.

“Hey,” They began their walk to the dining room. “I’m not a Paladin who gets to go and save the universe.” 

“Are you going to miss it?” She asked quietly, hoping Rini’s great hearing was out of their reach. 

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “But who knows, maybe you’ll need me to dig you Paladins out of trouble.”

“Whatever.” Rolling her eyes, Pidge was happy to have made it to the table without too much fuss as the family started to settle into dinner. 

Pidge watched her family for a moment, she was happy it was growing, that Matt was okay and he had found someone who made him happy. Her parents were together and mom finally looked somewhat peaceful, despite the fact Pidge and Sam were leaving tomorrow and Matt would probably be off on a Resistance mission, but he wouldn’t be gone for long since Rini was due in a few months. Regardless, the family seemed okay, and she had no doubt when she returned there would be more to celebrate. Yeah, she was living for this. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Keith never wanted to listen to us at first,” Adam smirked over to Allura from his space at the table. 

“He finally did midway through his first year.” Shiro nodded next to Allura. “After he had gotten in that fight with Griffin.” 

“We could forgive him for that fight.” Admitting, Adam continued. “The other times, he was just looking for attention.” 

“You, guys know I can hear you, right?” Keith said from his spot on the floor with Nyssa. After dinner, the others had wanted to sit and relax with a beverage but Nyssa had decided she was done. Luckily, Keith took it upon himself to play with the girl, explaining it was his turn. Allura knew it was his way of saying he wanted to play with her.

“I can see nothing has changed.” Adam chuckled, taking a sip of his beer. 

“Seriously,” Shiro smiled. “Keith was actually a good kid. Why do you ask?” 

“I guess,” Allura shrugged. “I just need advice.” 

“Those are not the two to ask.” Keith piped up. 

Rolling his eyes, Shiro assured her. “Allura, you’re doing great with her. I honestly have never known a happier baby.” 

“Plus, it’s not like we had Keith as a baby.” Adam pointed out. 

“Did you ever want kids?” The question was asked without even thinking but seeing the two men’s faces she gasped. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything!” 

“No, it’s fine.” Shiro smiled kindly, Adam was a bit more silent. “Actually, we decided it would have probably been best for us not to with my disease and everything. We didn’t want to have to put a kid through anything if it had gotten worse.” 

“That’s understandable.” Allura nodded.

“Plus, if Shiro were to adopt with someone now,” Adam spoke, trying to lighten the mood. “He would have a lot of explaining to do with all of his older kids.” 

Allura laughed at that.

A loud cry sounded and Keith immediately put up his hands. “Didn’t do it!” 

Standing up to walk over to the two, Allura decided. “I think it’s time for someone to go to bed.” 

“I agree.” Adam also stood. “It’s an early start tomorrow and someone has to be ready to pay attention to the details.” 

“Yeah.” Keith nodded, following suit. “The others are probably going crazy with their families.”

“Well, it’s better for us to relax since this is probably the last time we’re going to be able to,” Shiro added. 

“Isn’t the team invited over to Lance’s tomorrow?” Keith mentioned casually. 

“That’s what McClain said.” Adam shrugged. “We should probably bring something. I know, I wouldn’t want to be cooking for those many people.” 

“It’s nice they’re offering, though.” Shiro pointed out. 

“True.” The other older man agreed. “Plus after the gear up tomorrow, we’ll probably need something to work off the take-off jitters.” 

“It will be a lovely time, I’m sure.” Half paying attention, Allura said to the small girl. “Alright, Nyssa, you’ll be able to see Coran when we get back.”

Shiro had to smile at that. “Night Allura!” 

“Good night!” She waved, telling them over the screaming child. 

Adam bade the other two men good night and headed to his quarters. Keith and Shiro hung back. 

“Hey, Shiro.” Keith started. “Are you sure it’s okay if he comes?” 

“He’s the best doctor in the Garrison and possibly the world at this point.” Shiro shrugged. “I think it would be stupid for him not to come.” 

“But,” A pause before Keith decided to just go for it. “he hurt you.” 

“Keith.” Shiro let out a sigh. “Adam is not in the wrong here.” Seeing the protest starting, he continued. “Not to say he’s blameless, but when you’re in the same line of work you will have to put the team above yourself. You know that.” 

“I know.” He relented. “I know how hard it was for you when you thought he was dead and if you guys get back together…”

“We’re not,” Shiro assured. “And don’t feel like you have to choose either. Adam was part of your life too. He does love you, Keith.” 

“Okay, dad.” Joking a bit, Keith rolled his eyes. Then looked over the Commander. “For the record, I think it would fine if you found someone to be with.” 

“Alright, Keith.” Not really wanting to get into this topic, Shiro decided the conversation was over. “It’s time for us to go to bed.” 

“Yeah, got it.” Turning towards his quarters, he waved over his shoulders. “Night!” 

Shiro shook his head and trudged his way to his room. Those years were behind him as far as he was concerned. He knew who he was and perhaps he was more selfish than he thought. Then again, he no longer had anything to prove. After this mission with Voltron, what did it mean for him? He had already left a legacy, he wasn’t concerned over it any longer but what did his future hold after Voltron? 

Shrugging, perhaps he would worry about that later. For now, he had people that relied on him and that’s what he was living for. 

The next day was a busy one for Allura and she was happy she had left Shiro’s when she did. Gazing around her, Allura appreciated it looked different every time and one could see the work the Alteans had put into the area. 

“...and since we’ve added another group of feelers, we are able to quickly grasp those who truly need our help,” Romelle explained taking Allura through the facility. 

“Have the humans been able to help you further?” She prompted. 

“Immensely.” Giving a nod, Romelle gestured to their surroundings. “They have given us a program to integrate those found into working positions, while also being understanding of the trauma many have faced.” 

“Any reports further on that?” Allura prompted. 

“More confirmations than anything else.” A sigh escaped her and Romelle elaborated a bit. “Many have said that before the original colony had been destroyed they remember a celebration, thinking they had just had one too many squiggles then waking up here.” 

“You’ve mentioned some work up on the holding ship though?” She asked.

“Yes,” Hesitantly Romelle continued. “But the majority remember only seeing Haggar or Sendek as they were put away into the ships.”

“And the minority?” 

Again, Romelle gave a pause and her usually bubbly personality dissipated. “They remember… him… Prince Lotor before they went back into cryo-sleep.” 

Allura nodded and gazed around the clean lines of the hospital. Having pondered that piece of information many times over, she had no idea what to do with it. Everyone had been a pawn in a very long game. Although, they had yet to find out the ending. 

“Princess, again let me say…” Romelle rushed.

Holding up her hand, Allura stopped her and gave a gentle smile. “Romelle, there is nothing you could have done differently. My only hope is that we recover the majority of those lost and learn from this happenstance.” 

Defeated, Romelle nodded. “Do you believe there are some still on the ship?”

With the understanding of who she was referring to, Allura said, “I do and I know we will recover them. The scouts have confirmed that while the ship moves, it has a certain pattern and it will be one of our first stops.” 

“And they will come here?” She asked.

“They will.” It was no secret that one of Romelle’s hopes was that her parents were still alive. 

The young Being’s memories were slowly recovering and one of them was the fact that the majority of them were charmed from Haggar. After much work with Allura, Romelle had discovered not only Lotor’s innocence but that the colony itself had been destroyed and many of the Alteans who had been whisked away to the “2nd Colony” were actually being saved in case anything like that had happened. Romelle was an unfortunate case of Haggar’s spell being cast giving her false memories and being stuck on a charmed planet, alone. The very planet had been the one Lotor had spoken of on their trip to the Oriande. Haggar had tried to destroy her own kind again.

However, since Krolia and Keith’s visit to the 2nd colony, it had been moved and the scouts had caught it only by accident. They discovered it moved in very mysterious ways until Matt was able to pinpoint approximate locations of where it would be at. 

“Princess?” Romelle gave her a look and Allura noted her absent mindedness instantly.

“Please excuse me.” Allura recovered quickly. “The recent mission has me a bit on edge.” 

“Of course.” Understanding, Romelle continued their tour and moved it to the outside park. “I heard a few our people will be joining you on the mission.” 

“Yes,” Something she was truly able to smile about. “Celia will be on the bridge.”

“It’s good that so many Beings were able to join the Garrison and contribute.” Romelle smiled. “I think it will benefit those who need to, well, get closure in some way.” 

“I think it’s good to have all Beings work together to solve the crisis at hand.” While at one point Allura understood the need for revenge, she was now more concerned with finding a solution. It had been years, no centuries, of fighting. Alteans were carving out their own patches of land on the now sparsely populated Earth and creating their own colonies. 

Perhaps they would be able to go out and find their own planet again but for now, the Humans were gracious enough to help them. 

Laughter broke Allura of her thoughts and she looked over to see Coran and Nyssa in the middle of a crowd of Beings, who were charmed by the infant’s actions. Everyone was recovering in some way here and laughter was the best course of medicine. 

“Already capturing the hearts of her people.” Romelle nodded in approval. 

 

“No,” her mind wandered thoughtfully, “of her equals.” 

Seeing Romelle’s surprise, Allura decidedly let it go for the moment. She didn’t need to go into what she thought would be best for the future of Alteans. If they agreed, of course. That would be discussed at large later when the war was over and they could focus on their future. 

It was only that night when those intimate with the Paladins and the Atlas Crew gathered at Lance’s family’s place. The backyard was crowded with people laughing, sharing stories and there were already a couple people dancing. It was the epitome of the best that was Earth life. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lance glanced over at his sister quietly from his position by the wall, happy she was coming but nervous all the same. While he didn’t want to put more of his family in danger, he knew that Veronica would be an excellent asset to the team. Then, he glanced at the rest of the people coming who were all currently laughing, partying, and purely enjoying the atmosphere. Human, Galra, Balmaran, and everything in between had transitioned well from their other reaches of space to where they were now on Earth. 

While he had known Earth as a fairly peaceful planet, his grandparents had told him of a different time. When the Earth had been overly populated, resources were becoming more and more scarce, and wars had been everywhere. The Third War is what they had lived through and came out on the other side, despite both serving in it. After the Earth had been decimated, the population well below the average, and a few of resources depleted, humans were forced to work together. He couldn’t even imagine humans fighting each other now, especially as he looked around the new backyard, and saw Beings mixing with each other, a haven of sorts. His grandma would have loved this. 

“So little bro.” Veronica came over, with Marco. “You ready for tomorrow?” 

“Are you?” He countered in a playful way. 

“Ugh,” Marco said, “You guys are going to have so many stories when you get back.” 

“You could’ve joined the Garrison, Marco.” Veronica winked.

“And who would take care of the family?” He semi-joked and then got serious. “But honestly, it makes me feel better knowing there are people like you out there protecting us. After the invasion, I seriously thought everything was just going to be gone and we were biding time. Now, I don’t.” 

The siblings sat for a moment before Lance spoke. “Jeeze, Marco, since when did you become the pessimist? I thought that was Rachel’s job?” 

“What’s my job?” Walking over, Rachel looked at her family, hands on hips. 

“You’re the pessimist,” Veronica informed.

“Realist, you mean.” She corrected, sitting next to Lance, then bumped his shoulder. “So you gonna tell me who that hunk of meat over, who looks as awkward as all get out is?” 

Glancing over his sister’s shoulder, Lance’s brows narrowed. “Keith?” 

“The half-Galra dude?” Veronica also looked. 

“Yeah!” Rachel nodded. “He’s been eyeing you every time I see you together.” 

“He’s glaring and he looks at everyone like that,” Lance informed, taking a swig of his drink. 

“You mean, eye-fucking you.” She teased.

“No way!” Veronica got to it before Lance could but added. “Allura is totally crushing on Lance.” 

“She had another dude’s kid,” Marco gave a doubtful stare. “I think she’s a bit taken.” 

“With Lance.” Wiggling her brows, Veronica continued. “And he’s not here.” 

“He’s dead,” Marco stated flatly. 

“We don’t know that for sure.” Recalling conversations with the Altean and Lance, Rachel spoke up. “But it’s not Allura, Lance is after anyway.” 

“Since when?” Pouting, Veronica crossed her arms.

“Since forever.” Rachel shrugged. 

“I’m right here.” Lance pointed out.

“No way!” Ignoring her brother, Veronica’s brow narrowed at her sister.

“So way,” Rachel informed. “Remember the dude he would always complain about? The one he thought was his ‘rival’?” 

“Wait, really?” Marco paused.

“Seriously,” Lance spoke. “Right here.” 

“So the Princess was never going to happen?” Veronica wanted clarification.

“The Princess was a crush.” Rachel tilted her head. “Not that I can blame you, little brother, she is very cute.” 

“I swear, I’m….” 

“Rival?” Veronica paused. “So you’re talking about K…” 

“Alright!” Standing up, Lance looked between his siblings. “You guys are the worst.” 

“Oh come on, Lance.” Putting his arm around his brother’s neck, Marco smirked. “You can’t say you’re not going to miss us.” 

“The worst.” He reiterated and walked away.

They waited until he was a bit away and they all watched as he weaved through the dance floor to the very young man they had been talking about. It was then they all shouted, ”Solamente hazlo!”

“Cállate!” Lance shouted back, as he strode towards Keith.

“What’s that about?” Keith questioned as Lance approached him.

“Ah, nothing.” Waving it off, Lance continued. “They were just making fun of you.” 

“What? Why?” Appearing shocked that he would even be considered, Keith glanced at Lance.

“They were talking about how you were watching everyone dance and said those that watch, can’t.” He shrugged.

“Wait, seriously?” A competitive streaked flared up in him. “I can dance.” 

“I mean, I’ve never seen you, so I can’t judge,” Lance stated. 

“I can dance, Lance.” Keith insisted. 

“Prove it.” 

There was small deflation and Keith admitted. “I’ve never danced to this though.” 

“With the right person, you could.” Feigning indifference, Lance watched the other very closely. 

Keith paused for a moment before grabbing Lance’s hand and Lance jerked himself awake, surprised Keith took the bait. 

“What are you doing?” 

“You’re going to show me how to do this.” 

Lance wasn’t going to argue with that. 

“So,” Rachel leaned into Veronica, “you owe me twenty.” 

“I’m saving the universe,” Veronica mumbled. “I don’t owe you anything.” 

From across the party, Allura peered at the dance floor. “Is that Keith and Lance dancing?” 

“About time.” Pidge rolled her eyes. 

“Let them be, Pidge,” Shiro told her. “Keith is a slow burn type of guy.” 

“You mean the hot head of us?” Hunk took a bite of the queso-filled chip. “He’s the slow burn?” 

“He’s calmed down.” Shiro defended. 

“Keith just doesn’t want to get hurt.” Hunk corrected. 

“Who does?” Pidge shrugged. 

“Let them be.” Chastising the group of onlookers, Shiro let it go. “They’ll be fine.” 

“How’s Shay, Hunk?” Switching the topic, Allura looked to her friend. 

“Good.” A soft look lit his face. “She went to her post and is preparing the others for when we get there.” 

“She’s a valuable friend and ally.” Allura smiled. “You chose well.” 

“Thanks.” Blushing a bit, Hunk took another bite of his food.

“How did your family like Shay?” Pidge inquired. 

“I think they were a little confused at first, but they ended up really liking her in the end.” Hunk admitted. “They’re still getting used to the inter-species relationships.” 

“Yeah, mom and dad were that way with Matt.” Pidge nodded. “But I think it was more the idea of a secondary sex they were having an issue with more than anything else.” 

“I didn’t even go there with my parents.” Shaking his head, Hunk sighed. “That would’ve pushed them over the edge.” 

“Humans doesn’t have secondary features?” Allura questioned. “At all?” 

“Not like the Tyar does,” Pidge said. “Not the Alpha, Omega, and Beta type.” 

“I didn’t think Alteans had them,” Shiro admitted. 

“We do but it’s not as prominent as the Tyar or even the Galra.” She said. 

“The Galra have it?” Hunk thought for a moment. “You know what, that actually doesn’t surprise me.” 

“Yeah well, the Tyar definitely do.” Giving a sigh, Pidge told them, “Rini went into heat a couple of months ago for the first time since landing on Earth.” 

“That’s unfortunate.” Allura winced. 

“Sure.” A shrug and a small smile came to Pidge’s lips. “But I guess it sorta worked out.” 

“How do you mean?” She asked. 

“Rini is pregnant.” The smile widened. “I’m going to be an aunt.” 

Congratulations went all around the group. It was a perfect time to give even more reason for their imminent departure. Allura smiled softly, a great one indeed. 

“That explains why Matt pulled rank and moved his operation to Earth.” Shiro nodded. 

“Yep!” Pidge agreed. “Dad’s still going to go with us on the Atlas, but both he and mom are pretty excited.” 

“With everything that has happened to them and on Earth,” Allura sighed happily, “it’s good to get some decent news.” 

“Man, I can’t wait!” Hunk beamed.

“For Rini’s baby?” Pidge lifted a brow.

“I mean, that’s great!” Hunk paused. “But I guess more for me and Shay to start.” 

“Already?” Shiro chuckled. “You sure you guys don’t want to relax a bit, enjoy just being together for a while before starting that?” 

“Nah,” Waving that off. “It takes a while for Balmara to have them anyway. Plus, if we’re not compatible, we’ll have to go through the adoption process and you have no idea what intergalactic adoption processes entail. Man, are they rough.”

“Already planning for retirement from Voltron?” Allura couldn’t blame him. Hunk was the one who had been cautious all along but had grown so much during the time they had known each other. 

“Aren’t you guys?” Looking around at the others, Hunk questioned them. 

“I’ll probably stick with the Garrison, make my rounds, that type of thing.” Shiro was the first to break. “Maybe get stationed more permanently on the Atlas.” 

“It would be great to allocate the technology across the galaxies and catalog it.” Pidge pondered. “Maybe even create a trade of it or something. The possibilities are endless, really.” 

Allura paused for a moment. Unsure of where that left her. She had a people to watch over again. While many were still lost, she could find them, perhaps bring them back to Earth or another planet to call their own. There was also Nyssa to worry about raising, but Coran and the others seemed up to the task of doing that. 

“Allura?” Shiro worriedly called out to her. 

“Just thinking.” She smiled. “I think it would be nice to find the rest of the Alteans scattered around the galaxy and create our own space. Perhaps not just our own planet but maybe one on Earth, or some other peaceful planet.” 

“I think Earth would be nice,” Hunk spoke up first. “Plus you guys already have an outpost close by, why reinvent the wheel?”

“Good point, Hunk.” Allura laughed. 

“How are they doing by the way?” Shiro asked casually.

“As well as they can be.” She sighed.

“How are the therapist working out?” Pidge questioned. 

“Well actually.” Nodding, Allura watched as more people were brought on to the dance floor. “Everyone has responded and Romelle really has learned a lot from them and has been able to apply it directly to Altean biology as well. Romelle has taken a huge lead in caring for their cognition and making sure they’re in stable states.” 

“Good.” Hunk nodded. “I was worried after she was able to get out of Haggar’s charm since she seemed to not remember anything but I’m happy it worked out.” 

“Yes.” Becoming lost in thought, Allura further watched the dancers, some laughing in joy, others clinging to those who would be leaving tomorrow. It was always like this for missions, you never knew who would come back. A hand in front of her brought her out of her reprieve. She looked up at Shiro.

“Care to dance?” He smiled.

“Are you sure you don’t have anyone else?” A brow lifted.

“Pretty sure.” Assured, she went forward and they moved to the dance floor. 

It was somewhat of a slow song and Shiro was a surprisingly good dancer, Allura looked over his shoulder. 

“I think someone may mind.” She told him and he spared the person a glance.

“Trust me, he doesn’t.” Shiro sighed.

“Shiro.” Allura started. “I know Keith and everyone has asked, but are you truly alright with Adam coming? I don’t doubt his skills but I want to make sure you’re not having regrets.” 

“The only thing I regret is how I left things.” He admitted. “We’re adults, we know how to handle ourselves.” 

“He’s nice.” Trying to read her friend, Allura began to ramble a bit. “He’s handsome, I could absolutely see the appeal.” 

“You’re trying to rattle me.” Catching her, Shiro cocked his head. “It’s not going to work.” 

“You still care about him.” She informed. 

“Of course I do.” 

“You stayed by his bedside until he was awake enough and then never went to him again.” Pointing that out seemed to hit a nerve. 

“Would you have left Lotor’s side?” Only feeling slightly bad, Shiro bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from saying more. 

“No.” While it hurt a bit, Allura could admit so much more to herself. It had been long enough and there was proof of it currently sleeping by Coran. “I would’ve stayed there and prayed he would be the Being I know him as and not what he thought he had become.” 

A sigh escaped Shiro. “It’s not simple with Adam and me.” 

“I left Lotor to die, Shiro.” She said plainly, while it still hurt to say aloud, Allura had learned to live with it.

“You were ordered to.” He corrected. “Huge difference. Mine was a choice.” 

“You thought he would still be there,” Allura said. “It was a selfish choice but you said as much before.” 

That gave him a pause. Shiro grumbled. “I hate when you listen.” 

“What are friends for?” She smiled.

“But we’re not going to get back together.” He insisted. 

“What did you call Keith?” Pretending to think about it, she made it click. “A slow burn? I could be your… oh, what’s that called… a bird person?” 

“Wingwoman?” Shiro guessed. “I think I’m good, Allura.” 

“That’s what you think.” She wiggled her brows, needing a bit more levity in the conversation. It was a party, after all, her tears could wait. 

“You’ve been hanging out with Lance too much.” 

“True.” She conceded. “But at least he kept me entertained on bedrest with his… drama.” 

“I’ve had enough of drama.” Shiro pointed out. 

“You could use more love life drama.” Getting the hang of Earth slang had been interesting but Allura prided herself on quickly understanding it. 

“I could use a nap.” He corrected. “But seriously, Adam and I are done. We burnt that bridge too many times.” 

“There’s always more wood,” She shrugged. “Isn’t there?”

“No one’s hips are supposed to move like that!” Keith's raised voice cause a couple of people to look over. 

“Trust me,” Lance had Keith’s hips in his hands, attempting to dance to the beat. “They are.” 

“So a slow burn?” Allura glanced doubtfully at Shiro. 

“Slow burn.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Atlas crew takes off for its first mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for still being interested in this Fic! Good news! After Jan. 1st I'm going to start on a once a week update every Thursday. 
> 
> P.S. Sorry for the slight filler!

“Initiating take-off sequence,” Coran’s voice sounded. 

The engines fired up. 

“Three.” 

They revved. 

“Two.” 

A hold of breath.

“One.” 

Weightlessness was felt throughout the ship and everyone held their collective breaths as the Atlas left Earth’s ground and continued upward.

“Take off.” 

Pidge watched from the screen on the bridge as the ship ascended into the atmosphere and then the stratosphere. She could feel the excitement reverberate throughout the ship. Many of the people on board, it was their first mission this far out and the farthest an Earthship would go. Pride filled her. She had helped make this possible.

Earth had gone through so much in the past few years, let alone the entirety of human existence. Even if she just thought about space exploration, Pidge had to admire the people almost two hundred years ago sending people up into space collecting information that would eventually lead to the moon landing and then the space station. Of course, the war had put things at a standstill for a long time and even during its recovery years, the newly formed Garrison had a hard time to get people to focus on space exploration and improving the understanding of outside their system. Understandably of course. 

Her Nonna told her of the third world war and how different it had been before. Nonna had been part of the founding of the Garrison, which had started right before the war and had amazingly continued afterward. While it had taken years for the Earth to form it’s new governing bodies, the Garrison made itself useful by lending much of its services to rebuilding and the scientific information they could release. Nonna had been the one to create many of the ships and rovers the Garrison would use not only in the rebuilding projects but also all the new energy sources. Plus, her thesis was based on the renewable energy that basically rebuilt twenty-five major world cities. Nonna was pretty cool. 

However, after the invasion of Sendek, there was an opening for so many new possibilities since the arrival of a few new races, they became endless. Nonna would have been incredibly eager to work on all the new projects too. More importantly, Pidge knew in order to create everyone had to work together. The Garrison grew to accommodate the new Earthlings and the rest of Earth’s population suddenly exploded. And she knew that when they returned there would be even more to explore, to continue her family’s work. There was nothing she looked forward to more. Well, maybe the arrival of a new family member was comparable.

“We are space-bound!” Veronica announced to the rest of the team and a cheer was heard amongst the new crew members. 

Yep, it was pretty awesome.

“Should we tell them about the killer aliens now or later?” Hunk murmured to her.

“Or the planets that can control your mind?” Lance offered. 

“What about those things that were cute and ended up being…” 

“You guys ruin everything,” Pidge grumbled and then righted the conversation. “Just think, we’re on a mission to save the universe and we’re doing it with the help from others across galaxies. We’ve been able to pull Earth and other Beings together in this fight. Aren’t you excited about that?”

They stared at her for a moment before Hunk shrugged, “Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I just think we shouldn’t be too excited just yet. We’ve been getting reports and none of them had been exactly great.” 

“Do you think they would be?” Lance questioned. “I mean seriously, we were gone for almost five years, including our time in that crazy Quintessence Field. While we got Sendek and his crew, it doesn’t mean we destroyed all the Galra or any other bad guys we might face.” 

“But we’ve been at least able to send help out with the Alliance groups and get some Beings out of pretty bad situations.” Pidge smiled. “Especially with Hunk’s skills to talk some people down, we were able to save at least eleven groups within the past six months alone.” 

“Those were just small expeditions.” Trying to wave off his accomplishments, Hunk offered. “I mean, Pidge, you did so much more. Without you, or your family this whole ship wouldn’t be possible.” 

“Well, since we’re all patting ourselves on the back,” Lance put in his own two cents, “You guys have been some of the most helpful with the tech and diplomatic skills, and I’m just lucky to be part of this group.” 

“Aw, come on Lance.” Pidge nudged him. “You know without your sharpshooting skills Keith wouldn’t be here today.” 

“Really, if it wasn’t for you,” Hunk shrugged. “None of us would be here.” 

Touched for a moment, Lance smiled. “I am pretty awesome, aren’t I?”

“And it’s ruined.” Pidge snorted. 

“What’s ruined?” 

“Your ego got the best of you.” She informed. 

“Pidge.” Shiro caught her attention. “You need to report to the Lion’s Den.” 

“Already?” A million thoughts passed through her head but truthfully, she still wanted to watch the new wormhole open up. “We haven’t even left Saturn's orbit.” 

“Sam just asked for you.” He shrugged. 

“Should we go too?” Lance prompted. 

“He asked for Pidge,” Shiro told him. “No one else. But you guys could probably go check the rest of…” Shiro listened to the other end of his communication link. “Wait, he’s asking for you too.” 

“Yes!” Lance pumped and readied himself to head out of the bridge. 

“So much for being the top scientist on board.” Leaving at that, Pidge headed for the Den. “I thought I was supposed to be making those calls.”

The excitement on board clearly wasn’t just felt on the bridge, but as she walked through the halls of the ship, she noticed the cheerful attitudes the crew had. Many saluted her, as her rank had gone up back on Earth and the rest of the Paladins have as well. Or rather, they had made the Paladin rank the same a General. It was slightly confusing since before arriving on Earth, they had defaulted to leaning on certain people within their group to lead at different times, so while rank mattered it wasn’t the basis of their friendship. But now, they had more people on the ship and Shiro had explained more than once they couldn’t have as casual as relationships as they had before. 

Of course, the Paladins understood but it was still strange to be saluted every day and almost everywhere she went. Hopefully, within the next month or so they could lax the rules a bit and the order could be understood over being seen. 

“Pidge!” Her father’s call from the top of the Red Lion caught her attention. 

“Dad?” Brows narrowed as she looked up. “What are you doing?” 

“I think I found something,” Sam announced as Red lowered their mouth and Sam jumped off of them. 

“What did you find?” Placing his hands on his hips, Lance prepared himself for any news that came his way. 

“Now, I don’t know if this is in all of the Lions but the Red Lion appears to have a cognitive function.” Sam started and seeing the other two not as impressed, he pushed. “It’s more than we originally thought.” 

“I mean,” Lance shrugged, “Red’s pretty good at saving me and Keith from far away. Also, has really good advice on him.” 

“That’s…” Sam looked at Lance again. “Wait, do you mean you talk to it?”

“Yeah.” He said simply. “I talked a lot with Blue too, she was pretty good at calming me down. Red is a bit more… what, an instigator, I guess.” 

“You’re saying that they all have different personalities?” Sam asked.

“Dad,” Pidge interrupted, “we already knew this. The Lions chose us because of that.” 

“Right, right.” Calming down, Sam went on to explain further. “Red has a lot stored in his memories.” 

“Okay?” Still not really getting it, Lance paused. “I mean, how do you know that?”

“Their programming, while virtually infinite, has a limit.” Sam nodded. “I think whoever had Red before you, or before Keith, has stored a lot of information in the Lion.” 

The two Paladins paused at that and looked at each other, knowing exactly what was going through their minds. 

“Are you saying they all have logs of the old Paladins?” Pidge ventured. 

“Sort of,” Sam went on. “More like a cloud, of where all their memories and the Paladins’ memories are stored.” 

“Wait,” Lance had to slow this down. “You’re saying the Lions have memories, all of their own?” 

“And, what I gather at least, they all conversate in this cloud, or whatever we want to call it,” Nodding, Sam continued. “They have their own existence in a way, where they all make decisions, remember and communicate with you.” 

“How did you find this out?” While it wasn’t completely farfetched, Pidge needed to know how someone who wasn’t a Paladin figured this out.

“Like most discoveries, completely by accident.” He shrugged. “I was making sure Red, here, was spruced up for the journey and backed into a button…” 

“So you were messing around, pretending to be a Paladin.” Pidge’s brow rose.

“You were…” Lance started but was interrupted.

“Not be specific, but yes.” Continuing Sam said, “Anyway, the screen came on and showed something like a memory of a battle, one screen had the Paladin in the lion, the other was of the outside and the third screen had the other the Paladin’s expressions. All had a language below each other the Paladins’ heads like the Lions were telling each other what they were going to do next. But not all of it was instructional, some of conversational. Like the Blue Lion’s Paladin had bad breath.” 

Taking in the information, the two had to understand what they would do with what Sam had said. There were many possibilities but also, they had to take in what they might stumble across if they were to review the memories. It was also curious as to why it would be shown to someone who wasn’t a Paladin, but Red did have a bit of a surprising streak in them. However, it did give them a bit more time to think about what to do with this information. 

Pidge settled on being kind. She smiled at Sam. “Thanks, dad. Lance and I will talk about how we want to go about figuring this out.” 

“Wonderful!” Sam nodded. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to contact your mother, since I believe someone kicked today!” 

He scurried off, leaving Lance and Pidge to wonder.

“What do you think we should do?” Pidge asked quietly. 

“Red clearly wanted this out of our hands.” Lance looked up at the stoic Lion. “I’m not sure why though.” 

“Better question,” Pidge went on, “Why wouldn’t any of the other Lions do this?” 

“Red has a bit of a reputation of going off the books,” Lance smirked. 

“But that means there’s something he wants us to know but maybe the others don’t.” Wincing at the thought, Pidge knew she didn’t want to doubt her lion but a wave of it passed through. Though it would pass because Green would always tell her the basic truth. It was in her nature, the processing, whatever. 

“Or maybe he’s the only one that can.” Lance shrugged. “Or the rest chose him to do it first.”

Pidge paused for a moment. “Whoa, they can communicate with each other and they know what we’re doing.” 

“And they can smell.” 

Turning their heads to each other, Pidge and Lance lamented, remembering the early days of their fight, “Poor Yellow Lion.” 

“We should look more into this before telling the others.” Pidge decided. “We can’t assume all of these memories would be helpful or would change anything now.”

“Or we can find out what the Lions are capable of,” Lance suggested. “But it feels like we’re encroaching on other people’s memories like I don’t even know how to trying to pull out Allura dad’s memories without her getting hurt.” 

“I didn’t think about that.” Pidge paused. “But it does explain how Shiro was able to maintain a form with the help of the Black Lion.” 

“Yeah,” Drawing the word, Lance stared up at Red. “Let’s think about this later, maybe talk to Keith and Shiro about it.” 

“I can get behind that.” Pidge nodded. “Want to see if we can get Blue to gossip about the other Paladin?”

“You know me so well, Pidge.” 

Meanwhile, a more tedious venture was taking place in the Conference room. Allura standing against three large screens, each holding a commander of a few of the Alliance members who had been more involved with keeping the line in the past year. They would be able to convince others that Voltron was back and it was incredibly important to get their backing. 

“Princess,” The talking head, Kallis, sighed from the Tyar clan. “We are happy to see Voltron back but you must understand the others are hesitant to come out.” 

“He’s correct.” It was the Okeri’s diplomat now. “While the Galra Empire is in a precarious situation, we need to show our Coalition is stronger than before.”

“Especially after Lotor’s… death.” Polk from Balkin stated trying to choose the correct words. “Many of the Coalition and Alliance thought much of our woes were settled after he joined and acknowledged us.” 

“Be that as it may,” Allura was going to put an end to this here and now. “From my understanding, the Galra are not as strong as used to be.” 

“They are scattered throughout the universe though.” The Okri said sagely. “Meaning their lines are loose but their minds strong.” 

“They’re fighting over territory,” Polk said bluntly. 

“Between the various Generals, Commanders and…” There was a pause, that Allura took note of. “Well, other interested parties, it’s difficult to travel between us. The Galra may be disbanded but it doesn’t make them less threatening.” 

“What will it take to have the others come out of hiding and join us for a conference?” Feeling tired after re-adjusting to the time in space, Allura was ready for the meeting to be over. 

“A guarantee safety zone.” Kallis nodded.

“Safe Passage.” Okri agreed. “As we are scattered throughout the galaxy.” 

“Good food.” Polk shrugged after a long silence. “What?”

“I will speak with the other Paladins and Alliance Members.” She could not disagree with them. “I should be able to send word within a week.” 

They all signed off and Allura turned to see Shiro and Coran, with a calm Nyssa in his arms, standing there. She tilted her head. “Well, that could have been worse.” 

“At least they’re not against the meeting.” Watching her for a moment, Shiro asked. “You okay?”

“Nyssa has been a bit restless.” Allura patted her daughter’s head. “Especially at night.” 

“That’s how they are at this age,” Coran smirked. “You were worse.” 

Shiro snorted a bit at the information and then sobered. “I think we could talk to Krolia and Keith to get the Blades to focus on the safe passage for those who need it.” 

“It would show some Galra on our side.” She agreed. “Especially since they mentioned Lotor’s involvement. They probably need some reassurance the empire is not completely against them.” 

Coran opened his mouth to speak but Allura’s glare stopped him. 

Deciding to ignore the silent exchange, Shiro stated. “We also need more intel on Hagger's location.” 

“True.” Allura sighed. “Even during the conversation right now, they were even hesitant to mention her.”

“How so?” Shiro’s head cocked and they started walking out of the conference room.

“They stopped themselves from saying her name any time one of them mentioned any of the Galra rulers.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure what to make of it.”

“But we know she’s out there,” Coran mentioned. “Perhaps she’s more of a Webble?”

“A what?” Shiro questioned.

“A ghost.” Allura translated, having come accustom to trying to do so even on Earth with the other Alteans. “But ghost are not prone to killing the living.” 

“So we know there’s something going on with Hagger, but not what.” Shiro surmised. 

“I’m sure once we get back into contact with the Blades they will have more information.” Allura shrugged. “For now, let’s focus on the conference and getting the crew acclimated.” 

A day or so passed and the crew was getting used to each other. Hunk led the cooks through meals they should be able to create, the dietary restrictions of some of the Beings onboard. Keith ran drills with those who had some basic fighter training and when he wasn’t able to, Lance would run them. In addition to his drill sergeant status, Lance would check the day to day operations of the ship, filling in as chief of staff. Pidge maintained much of the ship’s mechanics and it’s more technological aspects with Hunk when he wasn’t busy with the cafeteria. Shiro and Coran would take shifts as commander on the bridge, even Allura would switch out if she had the time, but she was responsible for the communications between Alliances’ leaders, and sending out the word to their more remote allies with help from the Blades. It would take more time to fall into an easier routine but they were managing fairly well. 

“We’re going to have to land soon and refresh,” Lance said at their dinner table one night. “Preferably a friendly planet, get the rest familiar with the dynamics of now before heading into the war zone.” 

“Not ready to dodge fire yet?” Pidge smirked.

“Not ready to face anything without some warning.” He corrected. 

“It’s a good idea.” Keith nodded. “What’s the closest planet to us?” 

“Balmara.” Hunk said without thinking. “We can power up too.”

“And you can see Shay.” Pidge poked. 

“Yeah.” Shrugging, Hunk refused to be embarrassed. “I mean, isn’t it obvious?” 

“We should be visiting allies anyway,” Allura interjected. “We’ve been gone for so long, it would be better to show the Alliance that we’re still here and on their side.” 

“So Tyran should be next then?” Keith guessed. 

“Before that, we have to head to the Xeon Quadrant as according to reports the 2nd colony should be there.” Allura posed.

“Perfect.” Shiro nodded. “We’ll head there.” 

“Yes.” Happy to have that settled, Allura nodded. “Perhaps we can set a conference date as well. Choose a neutral planet and have everyone gather there.” 

“Maybe we shouldn’t land but at least dock between a few planets to make sure we don’t look like we’re favoring anyone.” Hunk suggested.

“I highly doubt anyone is thinking about favors right now.” Pidge rolled her eyes. 

“Hunk has a point,” Allura said delicately. “But we docking would be better in case not everyone can make the trip or if they need to restock they can.” 

“Point.” Hunk nodded.

“So where should we hold this conference?” Keith asked. 

There was a pause and then Lance spoke, “What about Arus? We started there, why not finish it there?” 

“I’ll send the call to the Arusians and hopefully they won’t mind.” Allura smiled softly. “I’m sure they won’t.” 

“I can’t believe we’re back to all this.” Hunk shook his head.

“I mean, we were always going to come back to this.” Keith shrugged. “We have a job to finish.” 

“Yeah,” he conceded but explained more. “But I mean, we have so many people depending on us now. It’s kinda scary.” 

“We’ve always had these many people depending on us though.” Pidge pointed out. 

“No, like here.” Gesturing around him, Hunk continued. “Before it was just us, we only had to worry about us. Now, we have this whole crew and I don’t know about you guys, but it makes me nervous.” 

“I think it’s heroic that these people want to help.” After a beat, Allura spoke. “We’re very lucky so many of them enlisted, it shows the Alliance is stronger than before even with our long absence.”

“But aren’t you worried about them?” Hunk pushed. “They have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. We’re going to war.” 

“They’ve already been through a war.” She countered. “We all have. Now, we just have more people helping us and hopefully, with their help, this war won’t last much longer. After this, we can finally have peace-talks rather than war sirens.” 

“Yeah, it’s good that we’re in this together.” Lance nodded and then gave a smirk. “Plus, the sooner this is done the sooner you can go be with Shay.” 

“Ugh, seriously!” Throwing his head back, Hunk righted himself. “I’m going to go crazy. It was so nice to just be with her and my family. I can’t wait!” 

The others laughed at the man’s forlorn expression. 

“Well, buddy,” Lance patted him on the back, “Good thing Balmara is our first stop.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise visit and some news for the team.

“Shay!” Hunk flew off of the ship and into the other’s awaiting arms. 

“Hunk!” She giggled and hugged him back in return.

“It’s not like it’s only been a week,” Pidge mumbled as she walked off Atlas with everyone else who was to dock here. Then looked around. “Woha!” 

“Looks like a boom happened here.” Lance gazed in awe at the change that had occurred on the planet. 

The once barren land was filled with crystals indicating the animal planet was healthy and very much alive. Aside from the health of the animal, the Balmara themselves had begun to build on top of the surface planet once again. Even the atmosphere had changed to a wonderful glowing color. 

“Well,” Glancing at the couple a bit away from them, Lance turned to his fellow companions. “Since they’re going to be a bit busy, want to go check out the town square, pick up some supplies?” 

“Totally!” Jumping off of the ship, Veronica grabbed her brother and Keith’s arms. “Let’s go get some souvenirs!” 

“If it’s alright with you guys,” Hunk barely glanced over at the group, “I think I’m going to head back with Shay.” 

“Kinda figured, buddy.” Patting him on the shoulder as he walked past, Lance led the small group towards the center of town. The crew of the Atlas following them as well, excited to see a new planet. 

“So,” Hunk smiled at the Being in front of him, “Where to first?”

“They opened up one of your bistro shops in a new part of town.” Shay returned his smile. “I’ve been waiting for you to come and try as I would like to know how well the product compares.” 

“Lead the way!” Offering his arm to her, Shay took the Earth greeting and they went the short way to the cafe chatting about things of indifference. When they sat down, Hunk took a sip of the drink. “Hey, this isn’t so bad!” 

It took a moment before Shay said, “You know, it could be better if we had a real Earthling here.” A pause before she rushed the next sentence. “Not right now, but later.” 

“Shay,” Giving a smile, Hunk answered her, “You know, there’s nothing wrong with telling me what you want.” 

“Yes.” She agreed. “But it is difficult to gauge your reaction at times.” 

“I’d be happy to stay here, with you.” Hunk assured. “As soon as this war is over we’ll be able to make real plans. Maybe start building a house or something here and on Earth.” 

“Both places?” A bit surprised at that, Shay felt her heart jump at the idea. 

“Yeah.” He nodded. “You know the Garrison has already offered the diplomatic position between Balmara and Earth to me so I have to split my time anyway and it would be better to do it with you. Plus, don’t get me wrong, I love our parents but I don’t really want to stay with them for months on end.” 

“I see your point.” Truly she did. “But it would the dwelling here would have to be close to my family.” 

“LIke next door?” Trying to decide how he felt about that, Hunk gave in. “Okay, but we’ll have to be close to my family too when we’re on Earth.” 

“Of course!” She agreed. “I expect they would want to be close to any offspring we provide, as mine will.” 

“Wait…” His stomach jumped to his throat. “Are you… are you saying you’re…”

“No.” Laughing at the prospect, Shay shook head her. “I am saying, in the future, when we procreate, I would hope for them to know both sides of their heritage. And the grandparents know traditions the best as they are normally created by them.” 

“Ah man.” A large smile sat on Hunk’s face. “You cannot believe how excited I am for this!” 

Another chortle. “I believe I can Hunk.” 

Not too far from the contemplative couple, the crew of the Atlas and Paladins strolled along the streets of the new city of Balmara. While Pidge was a bit put out by the absence of her partner in crime, she followed, Keith, Veronica, and Lance went into what appeared to be a clothing store. Dubiously, Lance picked out something.

“You know,” Lance gazed at the clothing item in his hand. “After the Balmara’s boost here, you think they would get a bit more into fashion.” 

“Not everyone is as stylish as you, Lance,” Keith grumbled, though silently agreed with his fellow Paladin. 

“Do you think dad would like this?” Veronica held up a plain looking vest before Lance could make a remark. 

“Depends.” Pidge shrugged, “Are you ready to tell him how boring his look is?”

“You’re in a mood.” Keith pointed out to Pidge.

“She’s just mad that Hunk went with his girlfriend and not us.” Picking out a less boring shirt, Lance handed it to his sister. “Here. Dad would go crazy for this pattern.” 

“Gross.” Veronica nodded and her face lit up. “He’ll love it!” And ran off to pay for the hideous shirt.

“It’s not that! It’s just…” Pidge sighed. “All he talks about is the future now and I’m happy for him but this is all I’ve ever known and it’s like he doesn’t even care anymore.” 

“Let’s be real,” Lance paused the conversation, “do you think Hunk ever really cared?” 

“Of course he did.” Keith’s brows narrowed. 

“No, no, no.” Correcting himself, Lance continued. “I mean, Voltron was never really his thing. He cares about us, the galaxy, earth, and everything but we all knew he wasn’t going to continue this after the war. He said so himself, multiple times.” 

“But to have everything figured out so soon?” Pidge shrugged. “I don’t know, it seems so quick.” 

“Shay and Hunk have been together for years, Pidge.” Keith conceded to Lance’s point. “I get why they would want to do that.” 

“Man,” Sighing Pidge said, “I’m in the slow lane for sure if Keith understands this.” 

“Hey…” 

“You’re not slow, Pidge.” Putting his arm around her, Lance encouraged. “The rest of us haven’t really given much thought about it either, probably. I mean, I haven’t really. We’ve kinda been dodging lasers and crazy aliens and saving the universe, I think it’s okay you haven’t thought about it.” 

“Wow!” Veronica walked back with a bag in her hand. “Did Lance just give a life lesson and I missed it?”

“Yeah.” Keith nodded. “Probably won’t happen for another twenty years.” 

“Seriously.” 

“I’m full of wisdom and knowing things!” Lance insisted. “You guys just never listen.” 

“Who told you that?” Keith questioned.

“Probably Blue,” Pidge smirked. “She’s the sensitive one.” 

“It wasn’t Blue!” Lance told them and then quietly said, “It was Red.” 

“Whatever, man.” Rolling his eyes Keith began to head towards the exit. 

As the small group left the store, they bumped into Shiro and Adam walking back towards the Atlas. 

“Hey guys,” Lance glanced between the two men. “What have you been up to?” 

“Trying to stay away from Coran and Dr. Holt’s overly long conversation with the Balmara about the crystals,” Adam answered. “Shopping, I see?” 

“Oh!” Pidge’s eyes lit up. “I need to hear this!” And she ran off in the direction the two came from. 

“I’ll never get it.” Lance shook his head. 

“Because it would require you to pay attention in class.” Veronica snickered.

“Nice.” Keith cheered her on.

“Says the kid who dropped out of school.” Adam pointed out. 

“I paid attention!” 

“You’re lucky the Garrison’s past test scores were destroyed because I would prove that wrong.” 

“You’re the worst.” Grumbling Keith turned his eyes to Shiro who just shrugged. “So are you.” 

“I didn’t do anything.” Shiro lifted a confused brow. 

“That’s the point, space dad,” Lance stated. 

“Okay, guys!” Veronica had to put her foot down. “Are we going to shop more or argue about Keith’s terrible test scores?” 

“Actually, it’s a good thing we ran into you.” Shiro agreed with the voice of semi-reason. “Krolia is going to be here any minute and we were heading back to meet her.” 

“Sure, Axca is coming too.” Keith nodded, forgetting the earlier conversation for now. 

“So heading back?” Lance guessed. 

“You guys go ahead,” Veronica backed away a bit. “I need to get the small humans something from here. Meet you back at the ship!” She left the four men standing there.

“Wait,” Lance paused for a moment. “Is Allura back on the ship?”

“Yeah,” Keith answered as they started their way back. “Why?”

“Did anyone tell Allura they were coming?” 

Meanwhile, Allura was on the bridge with Nyssa strapped to her, trying to move through a couple maneuvers in the simulator while others were away. It was much easier this way, alone with no one to watch over her shoulder. Not that she felt uncomfortable on the bridge, but it still was fairly new to her. The mechanics of the ship were much different and while she didn’t command the ship often, there were times when they were coasting she did. Besides, the ship was half-Altean, she needed to know more about it. 

Nyssa cooed in her sleep causing Allura to look down and give the child a soft look. The girl was growing up too quickly. Already at 7 months, she was progressing slower by Altean standards but quickly for Galra. She easily called to Allura and other shortened versions of nicknames for the Paladins, and a few other things but other than that it was slow. However, the Paladins were impressed with her words now and it caused Allura to wonder if perhaps the humans' atmosphere had caused Nyssa to be a bit delayed in some of her more Altean growth points. It was silly truthfully to think in those terms, but it allowed her another excuse other than her having a bit of Galra blood in her and cut out some of the more painful memories associated with it. 

A sigh escaped her, and Allura took her hands off the simulator and bounced Nyssa a bit more for her fall into a deeper sleep. It wasn’t all bad. From the time they had explored the wonders of lost Altean Alchemy to their first kiss to her finding out about Nyssa, Allura decided it had not been all bad. All those memories had not been painful. Some were wonderful, excellent even. The pain arose from the fact she had decided to not listen. 

Hearing a noise, Allura turned towards it but saw nothing. 

“Hello?” Nothing. Perhaps some of the members were beginning to return. 

Again a noise. 

“Shiro?” No answer. “Coran?” 

Silence. Her brows narrowed. Slowly, she took out her bayard and held it steady at her side.

Another noise and she flicked the Bayard and it flashed into a sword. With her daughter in her arms, Allura wasn’t willing to take a chance on who could be around. 

Holding a sword in one hand and steadying the heavy sling in the other, she gritted her teeth and faced her opponent head-on. They were in fighting stance the mask completely obscuring their face. Another unknown enemy, great. 

“Put down your weapon and yield!” Allura called out to the other. “You are on a ship controlled by the Paladins of Voltron it is against your interests to proceed.” 

There was a pause and then the person loosened their stance. 

“We are here to serve those in need and defend the universe against those who wish it harm.” While the being may have released some of their former tension, she still wasn’t going to let go, especially since Nyssa was with her, surprisingly still asleep. Though they weren’t saying anything. “Who are you?” 

The sword in the being’s hand was sheathed, but yet there was still silence. 

“I demand you explain yourself this instance!” Allura shouted finally and felt Nyssa stir at the sound of her mother’s raised voice. 

“I mean you no harm.” It... it was familiar, that voice. They raised their hands to their mask and unclicked it. 

Allura’s eyes widened and she paused at that moment. “Acxa!”

An ear-piercing screech sounded and Allura’s attention fell to her chest where Nyssa was wiggling. Well, this made her less intimidating. 

“You have a child.” The stare was one of surprise. Despite the being’s high position at one point, no doubt it was still surprising to see the sight before them. 

“Yes, thank you for pointing that out.” Allura snapped, still coming off of the adrenaline. 

“A lot has changed, hasn’t it, Princess?” The eyes went straight to the small child now out of the sling and around her mother’s neck. 

“You first.” She said slowly. 

“I have been working with the Blade of Mamora for some time, actually,” Acxa admitted. 

Allura should have been more surprised but instead simply nodded. “That doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.” 

“We got the message that Voltron was roaming around again.” She explained. “I’m here to confirm the rumors and report back what I find.”

“To both the Galra and the Blade of Mamora?” Allura guessed.

No response. 

“Allura!” A shout caused both of them to turn and see Keith and Lance running into the control room. Seeing another being in the room, Lance immediately pulled out his blaster but Keith stopped him. 

“Wait!” Keith paused. 

“What is she doing here?” Lance loudly questioned him, not backing off. 

“She’s with me.” Krolia hurried into the room. 

“Since when?” Lance still not lowering his weapon.

“For a while.” Keith stepped in. “Axca has been working as an agent, infiltrating the Galra since we ran into her two years ago.” 

Axca corrected them. “I have been working with the Blade of Mamora since last we met.” 

“Wait, seriously?” Lance asked. “Our reports said she was working for the Galra again.”

“How can we trust you?” Allura’s eyes narrowed, trying to hush the upset child. 

“I will vouch for her,” Krolia stated. 

“Why?” She shot back.

“I was the one who recruited her,” Krolia explained. “And she’s my daughter.” And all eyes turned to Keith.

“I have a complicated family.” He shrugged. 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Lance questioned him. 

“I didn’t think Axca would show up this soon,” Keith told him, then he turned to her. “Which begs the question, why are you here?” 

“I was scouting with Krolia,” Axca said. “Imagine my surprise when I see this child attached to the Princess.” Her eyes shifted towards Keith. “Apparently, you are very good at keeping secrets, little brother.” 

“It wasn’t my secret to tell.” Keith shrugged. “We have a lot to talk about anyway. Plus, Shiro, Pidge and the others should be back soon.” Nyssa was still sobbing. “And I think Nyssa is a bit hungry. Let’s go to the galley.” 

There was a silent agreement with everyone and they started to relax a bit while moving to the other room. Krolia and Keith moved out first, while Lance lagged behind waiting for Allura and Axca. 

“You alright?” Lance asked Allura quietly. 

“Yes, fine.” Her voice getting tense due to the squabbling child, unhappy with being woken up and then finding out she was also hungry. “I just wish Keith would’ve warned us about his family reunion.” 

“To be fair,” Axca caught up to them. “He didn’t know we were dropping in.” 

“Surprise visit?” Lance questioned her. 

“Krolia wanted to see him.” Clarifying a bit. “And so did I. Earth isn’t easy to visit from here regularly.” 

“He never mentioned you visiting,” Lance said. “Maybe Krolia but not you.” 

“My presence puts you all in danger, he couldn’t.” She explained and then she looked over at the disgruntled Nyssa. “She looks intelligent and a good fighter.”

“Thank you,” Allura said absentmindedly. 

Seeing her frustration, Lance took Nyssa from her and the child’s screeching calmed a bit. The sigh that escaped her wasn’t lost on Lance, to which he said. “She could smell your stress.” 

Axca watched the interaction from her position beside them and took note. While she had another thought when she had first seen the child, Axca was beginning to question herself. 

“Lance,” Axca started, “Are you fully an Earth being?”

Startled, Lance gave a look and slowly stated. “Yes.” 

“No Galra? At all?” They were entering the dining area and those who had been absent were already prepping the dinner. 

“Not that I’m aware of.” Taking their seats, Lance handed Nyssa back to Allura once she was settled and ready to feed Nyssa. “Why?”

“Well,” Axca paused for a moment before stating, “the child looks as though she has a slight Galra gene.” 

“Axca.” Keith’s warning voice caught everyone’s attention, as he sat on the opposite side of them. “We’ll discuss that later, we’re here to talk about what information you have gathered about the movements of the Galra Empire.” 

“Well,” Krolia nodded to the Shiro, Pidge, and Coran sitting at the table with the rest. “Things have been… precarious since Voltron has left.” 

“The generals have been fighting over territories since Lotor was deemed dead as you know.” As Axca spoke, Allura swallowed hard and hoped her distress didn’t bother a feeding Nyssa. “Currently, General Ranveig has the upper hand with conquering thirty percent of the old Galra’s territories. He would be the one to beat.” 

“He’s still alive?” Lance spat out.

“You would be surprised who’s still alive.” Axca cocked her head in dismay. “Even Morvok is alive and has the second highest percentage of the old empire under his control at twenty percent.” 

“However,” Krolia cut in. “at least twenty-five percent of the old territories are still free.” 

“So basically,” Pidge spoke. “We’re back to square one of when we started Voltron.” 

“Essentially.” She nodded. “But this time people are fighting back. The Blades can only do so much, but many are hoping for your return. The rumors are spreading quickly since you made an appearance a week ago.”

“Plus since the invasion of Earth,” Axca added. “Many Beings are thinking about heading there.” 

“What do the Galra say?” Shifting a bit, Allura felt her breath hold at the question. 

“While they may be interested in Earth,” Axca shrugged. “They deem it too far to get to at this point. The major Generals want to recapture what they can here and then eventually go to Earth’s system.” 

“Where are the majority of our allies?” Shiro asked. 

“There’s a cluster of planets that have held strong in the Javeeno Star System,” Axca stated. “While Haggar was last located in that system around ten months ago or so and we haven’t been able to locate her since.” 

“Haggar?” Allura’s brows narrowed. 

Krolia gave Allura a concerned look but answered. “She no longer has her Galra purple at times, which is a reason is it difficult to track her. That and her disappearing acts don’t help either.” 

“Alright, everyone!” Hunk entered the galley, with plates full of food. “I’ve got dishes from across the galaxy coming right up!” 

As he put down the dishes, Allura burped and cleaned up after a very sleep Nyssa. Everyone began to dig in and while Allura found the built-in playpen for Nyssa, Keith gathered her a plate and set in down in front of her before moving on to his own. They began to eat, keeping the talk lighter than before and with relative ease. Axca’s eyes silently upon them.

“Keith,” Axca caught her half-brother’s attention. “Do you think your offspring’s Galra gene will be strong?” 

Choking on his food, Keith recovered as quickly as he could, while the others stared blankly. “What!?” 

“Your offspring,” Axca looked around, “do you think they would have a strong Galra gene?” A silence went throughout the dining hall, even her mother was looking on in a shocked gaze. “Does your kind not talk about such things?”

“I.. I just…” Keith shook himself. “Why are you asking me this?” 

Axca paused and then looked to Allura, then to Lance and then to Keith. 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Lance stopped everything and gave Axca a glare. “Are you thinking one of us is Nyssa’s father?” 

“It has been on my mind.” Axca simply said. “You understand it’s quite a shock to see the Princess with a child, correct?” 

“Axca.” Krolia hissed. 

“No, it’s alright.” Allura delicately interrupted. “No one here fathered Nyssa.” 

“Allura…” Lance tried.

“Lotor fathered her.” After so long, Allura wished the pain and guilt would go away after admitting it. 

Axca’s eyes widened. “Then she is the rightful heir to the Galra empire! She could bring peace to the universe.” 

“She is just a baby.” Lance interrupted.

“Not to mention vulnerable to attack,” Keith added. 

“Plus it wouldn’t be easy to prove since there’s no direct contact.” Pidge nodded and Shiro gave her a look. “What?”

“Regardless of her relationship to Lotor.” Shiro stepped up. “She would still inherit an unstable throne and position even if she were old enough to fight.” 

“When the galaxy is more secure,” Allura sat up a bit straighter. “We would secure each empire and ensure the safety of everyone.” 

The room fell silent. Everyone contemplating the future ahead of them, knowing the trials they would have to face. It wasn’t only for Nyssa, of course, the entire universe was riding on their success. 

“Dayak has also been spotted and there was a male with her last time.” Axca blurted out. “I’ve been trying to track him since she left though.” 

“Axca!” Krolia called angrily. 

“What?” Allura’s eyes widened. 

“He… he doesn’t come out often.” Axca continued. “And he keeps himself well hidden.” 

Keith’s looked at his mother, “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“We’re not sure who he is.” Krolia sighed. “It could be a bodyguard, a creation of Haggar, we’re not certain, hence we didn’t say anything. And we’ve only seen him once.”

“Keep a close eye on the situation.” Shiro broke everyone’s thoughts. “For now, we focus on Haggar not interrupting any of our plans and making sure the Galra can’t expand more than they have.” 

“So….” Hank look amongst his friends. “Anyone up for dessert?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for comments and kudos everyone! We're getting closer to seeing our favorite purple alien ;) 
> 
> Please forgive any mistakes, I didn't check this chapter over as much!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The "what ifs"...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse any mistakes! I was in a bit of a hurry to not be too later. Enjoy and thank you for reading! 
> 
> Also, THANK YOU for the 25 kudos and all the comments!

“One, two, three, up!” Having Nyssa bounce on his lap, Lance only half paid attention to the conversation going on around him while they sat at one of the communal dining hall’s large table. She giggled as he made her go a little higher. 

“You know, Shay wants to have kids with me.” Hunk smirked to himself. 

“Already knew that, big guy.” Lance reminded him, still focused mostly on Nyssa. “One, two…” 

“So like,” giving a side-eye, Hunk tried it out himself. “Have you talked to Keith about stuff or anything?”

“I swear to…” Letting out a huge sigh, Lance settled Nyssa a bit and turned to Hunk. “I’m taking my time.” 

“It’s literally been years of you two taking your time.” Pointing out, Hunk took a bite of his pasta. “We’re nearing the end of the war, dude, aren’t you excited? Don’t you want to know what’s next?”

“Sure.” He shrugged. “But I don’t need everything planned out. I’m just ready to maybe relax a little.” 

“Fair.” Hunk nodded. “Man, can you believe it’s been that long though? Five years.” 

“Yeah.” A wistful look came over him. “It’s been pretty incredible.” 

“I’m glad it was with you guys though.” Decisively, Hunk stated. “I don’t think I would’ve wanted it with anyone else.” 

“We do make a pretty good team, don’t we?” Lance smirked. 

“Ma! Shi!” Nyssa shrieked as Allura and Shiro came towards them with a plate in her hand. Making grabby hands towards her mother, Allura put down the plate before taking Nyssa for herself. 

“You need to eat.” Shiro chastised. 

“Well, we’ll just have to calm my little star down before I can.” Allura put a sing-songy voice on as she settled Nyssa into her lap. “Besides, she needs to eat before she succumbs to a meltdown.” 

“I gave her a bottle before Lance came.” Hunk shrugged taking another bite of his food. “So she’s good for a nap.” 

“Thank you, Hunk.” Allura smiled and tucked Nyssa into the crook of her arm. “Hopefully, she’ll be easy to put down then.” 

“How’s the bridge going?” Lance asked as Nyssa mumbled in her mother’s lap, occupying herself with a button. 

“Fine.” Shiro took a bite of his food, “I’m going to take the later shift today. Then, Keith, Krolia and Axca needed to confirm with the Blades to be security for the conference.”

Allura sipped her water. “I decidedly took a break when Coran came onto the bridge.”

“Tell me about,” Stretching out a bit, Lance agreed. “It’s taking some of these newbies some time to get used to everything.”

“They’re not that bad.” Hunk rolled this eyes. 

“One of them asked me how many weeks it’s going to take to bring down the Galra,” Lance stated with a look. “Weeks! Like we’re going on a camping trip or something.” 

“It’s not like we were any better,” Trying to defend the new crew members, Hunk had to silently admit even that was pushing it. 

“You try training them then,” Lance shrugged. 

“No thank you,” Hunk said and stood up. “I have diagnostic tests to run with Pidge. I’ll see you guys at the meeting today, right? What’s it about again?”

“Of course,” Allura nodded, happy she was able to eat a bit while the child sat contently. “We’re briefing the entire crew to tell them what to expect.”

“I’ll make some of those crisps then.” Hunk decided. “See you guys later.”

“Yeah, I need to go make sure Keith hasn’t killed any of the newbs.” Lance stood as well.

The other two said their goodbyes as he walked away and sat for a moment in peace. Allura quietly finished her meal, while Shiro entertained Nyssa. It was the ease at which they could be like this, that Allura enjoyed. Shiro was a natural around kids and Allura was happy someone on their team knew what to do besides Coran, who sometimes buckled under the pressure. 

Though much of her gestation period with Nyssa was treacherous at times, Allura was grateful for their constant support. If Shiro was unable to make it to her bedside, Lance would show up to tell her stories about his family’s antics, or Pidge would give her the new information on the ships. Hunk would often come by with new treats for her to try and tell her about Shay and how they were getting along. Keith would come by less frequently, she suspected it had to do more with his unease at hospitals or seeing those he cared about in their weaker moments, but they still spoke on diplomatic happenings. His visit usually happened with Krolia or Shiro as well. Coran essentially never left her side, knowing exactly the perils she was facing without a mate by her side. For that, she would be eternally grateful towards him especially.

“Hey, Allura,” Bringing her out of her thoughts, Shiro nodded down softly at Nyssa, who was falling asleep, “want me to take her?”

“No, it’s alright,” Shrugging, Allura kept eating. “I don’t want to risk waking her. She hasn’t been sleeping through the night as she’s getting used to the crew’s schedule, and has been incredibly cranky so I’d like her to be less so.” 

“Got it.” Shiro paused for a moment and looked Allura over for a moment before saying, “Allura, are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Allura’s brows furrowed for a moment but looked over to Shiro’s unimpressed face before realizing what he meant. Giving a sigh, “Shiro, they don’t know anything for certain. I’m not sure how I feel.” 

“But,” he pushed forward, “what will you do if it is him?”

“Truthfully?” She sighed. “I don’t even know if he would want to see me… us.”

“He would.” Shiro encouraged gently. 

“I highly doubt he would want to see the Being who left him in the Rift to die, Shiro.” Shiro huffed. “No to mention have a daughter without his knowledge if he had made it out somehow.” 

“I think he would be more reasonable than that,” Seeing her scoff, Shiro took her hand resting on the table. “While Lotor has his issues, he’s also incredibly intelligent and was a fair leader. Not only would he understand orders, he knows strategy. All I’m saying is he would get it.”

“Emotion still play a part in leadership, Shiro, as you know.” She chided gently. “Especially with a… a close ally.” 

“You guys were more than allies.” He said. 

“True,” After that, Allura suddenly got stuck, in her thoughts, “His being alive wouldn’t only affect us, either. He would have to go back to his people. He would have negotiated and we would have to...”

“If he were alive, he would’ve already gone back.” Shiro cut her off. “Hell, this would be a lot simpler if he had probably.”

“Unless the Quintessence was too much for him.” She reminded softly. 

After a moment, Shiro looked her over. “Is that what you’re worried about if he’s still alive?” 

“Yes.” Over the years, Allura had felt comfortable enough to confide in a few of the Paladins. Lance and Shiro were at the top of her list, though. The others helped, but Shiro and Lance understood the emotional impact, perhaps because they had been through their own emotional happenstances and handled it fairly well that she felt comfortable enough to do so. “I feel ashamed because it’s mostly my fault. I’m the one who abandoned him and drove him to madness.”

“Allura,” Shiro sighed, “you couldn’t have known otherwise at the time.”

“He tried to tell us, Shiro.” Tears were starting to form at the corners of her eyes. Despite the almost two years of going over the same thing, Allura still had the guilt of knowing the truth and how she claimed to have loved someone without truly listening to their side before letting her emotions drive her. Not only had she failed as a leader, but she had also failed as a partner. Both were hard to stomach. 

“Come on.” Standing a bit, Shiro took a sleeping Nyssa and Allura’s hand and led her to her quarters. After putting Nyssa to her bed, Shiro came back to find Allura sitting at the table by the small kitchenette. Sighing, he went over to her and knelt down in front of her. “Allura, you can’t change what you felt in those moments. You both were running on a lot of emotions. If he were in your position, he probably would’ve done the same thing. You followed orders.”

“I could have gone back alone.” That thought alone had kept her awake at night. When she had found out about Nyssa, Keith had been the one to stop her from going back to get him.

“You would’ve lost Nyssa.” They had this conversation quite a few times. Shiro had to remind her every time. 

“What if he refuses to forgive me?” She questioned. 

“He won’t.” Patting her thighs, Shiro encouraged her to talk a bit more. “Let’s go through a couple scenarios. Say it is Lotor, but the Quintessence did take over, what will you do?”

“Do whatever it takes to get through to him.” It was easier to be truthful at this point, even if the tears kept coming. Allura had to get through this, she had to think about something. “And if he ever got better, introduce Nyssa.”

“How do you think he will react to her?” Talks about Lotor had been very few and far in-between. It often resulted in tears or, while Allura was pregnant, a terrible panic attack causing her to go back into the emergency room. “Did you guys ever talk about kids?”

She paused, trying to come up with something. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t thought about it but most scenarios resulted in his displeasure at the situation. There was one that was happy, however, Allura knew there were many things to work out before that could happen. 

Allura looked away, “I remember him saying that the children were something precious to behold as they were the future of the universe but that was all. And I don’t think he would truly react poorly to her unless…” 

“He’s completely corrupted.” Shiro finished her trailing off. “But what if he’s not?”

“Then,” she sighed, “I will hope for the best. Since he believed it to be a non-issue, he didn’t speak of it.” 

“What do you mean, it’s a non-issue and he didn’t expect to have them?” Not really understanding what she was saying, Shiro tried for more information. 

“The Galra have a firm belief that only purebloods or those who have incredible strength will reproduce.” Starting, Allura continued. “Lotor was a half-breed of the Emperor and the Altean side of him was weak.” 

“But he proved his strength.” His brows narrowed and realizing what he said, Shiro tried to go back. “He won his throne against all of them.” 

“While that may be true, when you are bombarded with messages declaring how weak you are, after 10,000 deca-phebs,” a shrug, “one would begin to believe it, would they not?” 

“You’re saying,” In an attempt to understand, Shiro guessed, “he believed he couldn’t have kids because he’s weak because the Galra said so?” 

“Well, in the last 10,000 deca-phebs Nyssa is the only one to come from… a union.” She sighed. 

“I thought you didn’t talk about kids?” Shiro questioned.

That caused her to pause and Allura thought for a moment. Again, they hadn’t gone in depth about children and casually bringing up a child would not be ideal at the beginning of a courtship. Correcting herself, she nodded. “True. However, if he does then he has kept them in hiding.” 

“And he probably botched the records.” He suggested.

“This isn’t making me feel better,” Giving him a deadpan look, Allura said. “I would rather not think about how Lotor fathered millions of children.” 

“I wasn’t saying that,” Holding up his hands in defeat, Shiro said. “I’m saying that if he did have other kids, maybe it was why he kept out of Zarkon’s reach for so long and kept himself in exile. Maybe he had something to protect. Even Pidge says the history books from the Galra barely mention him.” 

“He’s also a Prince who is only half Galra.” Allura reminded. “That would be a blot on Zarkon’s name.” 

“Even so,” Shiro wasn’t quite finished. “On the off chance he’s not corrupt, it might be worth giving him a chance.” 

Giving him a weary look, Allura jokingly asked, “Are you still under the influence of Haggar?” 

“No.” Rolling his eyes, Shiro couldn’t help himself. “I just think about if Adam had kept something like this from me how I would feel. No matter what state I would be in, I think I would want to know.” 

“Shiro,” she sighed, “I cannot make a decision right now. It’s not confirmed. I refuse to… to…” 

“Give yourself hope.” Finishing for her when she didn’t complete the thought, he nodded in understanding. “I’m just saying, I think it would give you both a little peace.”

“I’ll… I’ll think about it.” Allura acquiesced. 

Standing up, he held out his hand. “Ready to go to the briefing or do you want to wait for Coran to come and watch her?”

“He’s busy on the bridge.” Grumbling, Allura took his hand and got up herself. Before they left, she grabbed the video baby monitor with her. “I feel like our entire lives have become briefings.” 

Walking side by side, Shiro glanced her out of the corner of his eyes. He knew Acxa’s report was a bit harder on her than she would like to admit but he wanted her to have hope. Truthfully, he wanted to as well. They had been wrong and too quick to respond to Romelle’s claim. Lotor had been a colleague, an ally and a friend, they had taken someone else’s word before giving him a chance to speak. It didn’t surprise Shiro, that when they had found out the truth about the colony that Keith had retracted into himself for a long time before Shiro had to call Krolia to help him out of it. 

“Allura,” Shiro laid a hand on her shoulder before entering the room. “It will work out. We’re here for you.” 

“I know.” Giving a soft smile, she sighed. “I hope this will be quick. I would like to be able to sleep a bit before Nyssa wakes up.” 

“It should be.” He shrugged as the doors opened. “It’s only a briefing for the conference and what to expect. The crew just needs to know the basics.” 

“Is that why I saw it on the Schedule for two hours?” She said dryly. 

“Hope, Allura,” Shiro stated. “Have just a little hope.” 

They both went into the conference room and peered at everyone in attendance. Krolia and a few of the other Blades had made it, the entire Atlas crew were there as well as a few commanders of the Alliance sat on the screen. It was something Allura was becoming incredibly familiar with and wished for a moment that she could travel to a secluded planet and relax for few ticks. It would be lovely. Alas, that was not going to be this moment. 

Apparently, they were also a bit late as everyone was already there and in discussion. At least Keith would be able to fill them in later if anything important had been said at the beginning. It appeared they were still on the logistics of the conference.

“How are we going to get everyone under the same roof?” Hunk questioned. “I mean everyone is in hiding or they’ve isolated themselves. Plus we have to worry about attacks!”

“We’re in contact with the majority of the resistance,” Keith assured. “The Blades have agreed to focus on security and safe passage for those who need it.” 

“And where are we taking them?” Krolia questioned. “Here?”

“No.” Shiro shook his head. “We’re going to Arus.” 

“Arus?” Acxa’s brow lifted. “Where the Castle of Lions was?” 

“It’s neutral territory and the Arusians have already agreed to host,” Allura added.

“And we’re going to have a spread for the deca-phoebs!” Hunk smiled.

“That should be doable within the timeframe.” Krolia nodded. “We’ll get the Blades on it.” 

“So we’re agreed?” Shiro glanced around at those at the table. “We’ll meet on Arus and decide on a plan of action at the conference?” 

“Since we want everyone to agree with us, yes.” Allura nodded. “We need them on our side, we can’t bully them into our plans.” 

“We have good plans though.” Pidge insisted.

“I never said we couldn’t tell them our plans.” She placated. “But steering them towards our plans is better than forcing them into it.” 

“Gotcha.” The other woman agreed. 

“So Korlia and Kolivan will contact their quadrants,” Keith looked at the Beings he mentioned. “And Acxa will ensure safe passage for undercover Blades.” 

“I’ll talk to Shay and make sure the meeting spaces are situated.” Hunk reiterated his part. 

“Matt is already gathering his sector from Earth and they are heading to Arus,” Pidge spoke.

“Great.” Shiro monitored the room for a moment before breaking. “On to…” 

The conversation continued with surprising questions from the rest of the crew, who no doubt wanted to be on top of everything. Allura smiled to herself. Everyone had their first jitters when it came to diplomatic meetings, and the Atlas crew was no exception. They were a group of diverse backgrounds so a few more basic questions were asked. She knew of a couple diplomats from other planets and one from Earth, a few warriors had joined in, and even a librarian, which she understood to be the keeper of information. Helpful, but they were also equipped to handle the most treacherous terrain. Whatever that meant. 

All in all, she was proud of the community they had created on Earth to accompany them on the Atlas’ first true maiden voyage. It was exciting after all, and she didn’t blame the newcomers for having such enthusiasm. She remembered what it was like first starting out with the Voltron team, everyone was a sidestep from each other, the bickering and the hang-ups. Not that any of that had truly stopped but they had come to understand each other better. The sidesteps were more for letting others have their breathing room after an argument, the bickering was for sport and the hang-ups were from the memories of those lost. No one would come out of this war unscathed but she knew it would be for the best in the end. In her selfish way, Allura wondered what she would lose next. 

“Alright everyone,” Shiro nodded to the group. “Back to your stations.” 

With the meeting ended, Allura made to move with the rest of the crew but Acxa grabbed her arm.

“Wait,” Acxa spoke in low tones and waited till the majority of the group had left the room or were otherwise occupied. “I wanted to tell you first.” 

“What?” Cocking her head, Allura’s curiosity got the best of her when Acxa didn’t go on. 

“We found him.” It was even a lower voice. “Lotor. He’s alive.” 

Allura’s universe stopped at that moment. He was alive. He had survived the Rift. She hadn’t killed him. There was still a chance. The words repeated in her head continuously until she felt someone easing her down back into her seat. Those who had stayed behind were now crowding her. Luckily it was her original teammates and Adam. 

“Allura are you okay?” Adam was bent at the waist, taking her plus at her wrist. “Can you hear me?” 

“Yes.” She breathed out.

“What did you tell her?” Shiro asked Acxa, more confused than angry.

“We confirmed it was him,” Acxa admitted. “Lotor.”

The others looked at another. 

“Where?” Allura broke the silence.

Acxa hesitated. “On Reiphod. They became a refugee planet a few years ago.”

“The place where we did the play?” Lance asked. 

“That’s not far from here,” Pidge said quietly.

“How far?” Shiro looked to Pidge.

“A day trip, if that.” She confirmed. 

“Is he with anyone?” Keith questioned, noticing Allura’s silence. 

“Dayak,” Acxa stated. “She has been taking care of him, but no one else is with them.”

Allura looked to Shiro and a silent agreement was made. Shiro broke the look and turned to the rest. “I guess we’re heading to Reiphod.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He is found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Your comments were amazing and I'm so sorry for not being able to get to them time around, please blame my crazy schedule. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys and I promise this time I will get to everyone's comment for this chapter because I love interacting with everyone! :) 
> 
> Enjoy!

“I don’t think we all need to land,” Keith told Shiro as they watched Reiphod came into view. “We’ve already stocked up on Balmara, we shouldn’t waste energy like that.” 

“Fair enough.” Shiro nodded. “We can put a couple scouts on the ground.” 

“That would raise too much suspicion.” Disagreeing, Keith gave another alternative. “We can send one of the Blades…”

“I’ll go.” Allura was already suited up, with her helmet in hand. 

“You should take someone with you,” Shiro suggested gently. His eyes briefly flickered to Adam before going back to Allura.

“It would cause too much suspicion like Keith said,” Allura’s brows narrowed, her jaw set in determination. “It would be better if I went alone.” 

“What if I went?” Keith suggested. It was probably easier than having the whole team, plus his ability to blend into the crowd would be a good thing. 

“The emotionally stunted guy?” Lifting a brow, Lance offered himself. “I’ll go. Brawns and emotional capacity, it’s a thing, folks.” 

“So you can talk about space dust getting in your eye again?” Pidge guessed. “No. I can go. Plus, I’ll get out of the way when they want to talk and go look at some of their new tech.” 

“And we’ll lose you in the process, no.” Hunk shook his head. There was a pause as everyone looked at him. “What? I’m not going. Allura and Lotor need to talk at least a little bit before facing us. I don’t think any of us should weigh in on their relationship or whatever.” 

A silence went over the group before Allura lay her hand on Hunk’s arm and smiled softly, “Thank you, Hunk.” 

Sighing, Shiro knew there was no point in arguing further, he gave in. “Alright. Take the small pod.” 

Giving a nod, Allura was already out of the room and on her way to the pod.

“Allura, wait!” Lance grabbed her before she left. “Listen, are you sure you can trust him now? He’s lied in the past.” 

“The colony was true.” She stated tersely. “The Alteans weren’t being harvested but in cryo-sleep. They were being hidden from the Galra. Saved!” 

“But who found them?” He countered. “Who was the Being who put them in the Galra ships we’ve found?” 

The thought had not crossed her mind and she paused. 

“What if it was him?” Trying to be gentle, Lance questioned quietly. 

“He’s been in... hiding.” Her brows furrowed. “He couldn’t have any contact with the Galra. Acxa or one of the Blades would’ve heard of him.” 

“He was in hiding before.” He insisted. “And he had a whole colony behind his father’s back. If there is something he wants to do, I don’t doubt he could.” 

Allura’s eyes flickered, studying Lance’s face for a moment. She had in fact thought about all of these factors. Lotor was not the prince of many people’s dreams. There were rougher parts of his past. He had lied, cheated, and had a hand in helping with various atrocities, some deemed unforgivable, but he had also many high points. Lotor had helped save the Altean people, he had preserved their culture and traditions though many thought they had perished. His diplomatic skills and strategic thinking were above many Beings’ heads. He was worth more to the universe than so many other things and Allura was going to find him again. 

“Lance,” She started within more conviction than she meant to have. “I already left him behind once without hearing his side…” 

“To be fair, he admitted it.” 

“There’s a reason.” Allura insisted. “He always has a reason for doing something. Perhaps it’s something I cannot condone and if I think it’s irredeemable, then I will judge that, but if I can stomach it…” A sigh. “He deserves to know his daughter. He tried to save my people.” 

“Under the guise of killing them.” He reminded. “And some were killed.” 

“I know.” She bit out. 

“You’re making excuses for him.” 

“I’m saying we have all done things in this war that we might have to answer to one day, including us,” Gritted her teeth. “I am not going to condemn him for not being perfect.” Allura turned back quickly. “But I will condemn him for thinking he can hide and not contribute to the mess he created.” 

“That’s a terrible way to talk about your daughter.” The quip earned him a look and Lance sighed. “Got it. Well, I support you, just be careful.” 

“Thank you, Lance.” Squeezing his hand, Allura left.

“Acxa said he’s harmless.” Keith’s voice reached Lance’s ears. 

“She fell apart last time.” Shaking his head, he turned to Keith. “What if he does something worse than lying?” 

“Then,” Laying a hand on Lance’s shoulder, Keith told him, “We’ll be there for her again. But for what it’s worth, I don’t think he will.” 

The words didn’t comfort Lance but Keith’s presence did and it offered him the support he needed. They both turned to watch Allura’s ship leave. It would be okay. Lance didn’t know how but it would be okay. 

Meanwhile, Allura’s mind was racing as she flew in the pod and landed it just on the outskirts of the main center of town. She had to make this quick. If they had already confirmed Lotor’s presence on Reiphod, who knew who else had the same information. If the Galra had the information, they would be here within a matter of moments. She had to act quickly.

A hand caught her wrist and Allura stilled, “Don’t move.” 

She didn’t.

“I know who you seek and I will take you to them.” The voice was eerily familiar. “Follow two paces behind me. Turn in two seconds. Nod if you understand.” 

Giving a quick nod. She counted the time in her head and followed the cloaked being, knowing it had to be the right person. Rushing to keep up, Allura found herself weaving through the groupings of people in the busy square, noting how different it looked since last time she was here. However, those were the least of her concerns when the Being turned down an alley and headed into an apartment building, she followed without hesitation, which Allura would look at as foolish but it didn’t matter at this current moment. 

At the third landing, the Being stopped at a door and Allura finally got a look at their face.

“Dayak?” A breath. 

“He’s in there, Princess of Altea.” Not bothering with protocol now, Dayak nodded towards the door. 

“You found him?” She couldn’t move, trying to piece everything together. 

“After what you did?” Clearly holding nothing back, Dayak’s red eyes flashed. “And after he came out of the Rift. Yes, I found him.” 

“He got out by himself?” Allura could understand the dislike.

“Oh for all the stars…” Exasperated, Dayak gave her a withering stare. “I found him dropped in my residence, bruised, beaten and broken. Would you like to stand out here all day questioning me or actually go and see him yourself?” 

Jaw clenching at the words, Allura felt her heart begin to pound. She had not truly reconciled with what she should expect if she had ever found Lotor. Perhaps fantasized, but the actual happenstance, it was another feeling. “What does he know?” 

Dayak’s brows narrowed and then the realization came over her and something akin to softness came to her features. “Nothing. He knows only that Voltron has returned and to expect you. Acxa relayed the information first to me and determined the best course of action.” A pause. “We both agreed you should speak with him.” 

Reading between the lines, Allura nodded and laid a hand on the Galra’s arm, she gave a smile, “Thank you.” 

“Princess,” Dayak caught her wrist, “He’s… not in top form. The Rift took much from him.” 

Not being able to say anything, Allura pushed forward and made her way into the apartment. While not overly lavish, it was well stocked and looked livable. Surprising her a bit as he was on the run, but perhaps it was more for the sake of Dayak than his. The part of town wasn’t known for its crime but it also wasn’t known for being incredibly safe so anything of value was kept away from the windows. Not that the residence had anything of true value. Turning the corner, she saw the intended figure sitting at the dining table, a cup of steaming liquid in his hand. He didn’t look surprised to see her, a small smirk on his lips.

Allura openly stared. It had been almost two deca-phoebs. Well, really five deca-phoebs and a dip in the Rift. It had taken its toll on him. He retained his handsomeness and built, despite his short, straggly hair. Apart from scarring on the left side of his face, lines were starting to etch themselves around his eyes and he looked exhausted. His Altean markings mimicked those she had seen when they had been in Oriande. No doubt, the time he spent running and hiding would make anyone fall prey to these signs of it. The other thing was the wooden cane to his right of where he sat at the table. But he was here. In front of her. Alive. 

“You cut your hair.” She said dumbly and then looked down and waved away the idea. “Sorry, I mean…” 

“So did you.” Lotor huffed out. His voice was scratched, probably from minor usage than anything else, but it was still lovely to her ears. “It suits you.” 

“How…” Swallowing, Allura started again. “How did you get out?” 

“Truthfully?” He started. “You would have to ask Dayak, for my memories from those moments are… precarious.” 

Taking in the information, she tried to suss through the multitude of questions flying through her head. It was still surreal to see him sitting in front of her. She had no idea how to truly navigate the situation. There was so much to tell him but she was still a bit unsure as to his state of mind. Rushing to tell him everything could potentially hurt him more than waiting, understanding where he was coming from. Yet the impatient side of her was scratching to get out. 

“Would you like to take a seat?” Motioning to the chair next to him, he asked her. “I also have a few beverages, if you would like one.” 

“I’m fine.” Sitting down from the chair across from him at the small table, Allura gazed at him. “You seem… different or the same as I knew you.” 

“I’m glad to hear that.” He looked down for a moment, then looked back up. “You are just as I remember.” A pause. She wasn’t sure what that meant. “Voltron is once again making strides for the peace effort in the universe. Although the hiatus was peculiar .” 

“There were… complications.” She said delicately, understanding the unasked question. Patience. Timing. “We had to rebuild a ship.” 

“Ah,” His head bowed a bit, “For that, I am truly sorry, Princess. I know I could never…” 

“I wanted to go back for you.” The words burst forth so quickly, she didn’t know what to make of it. She couldn’t take an apology from him after all she had found. 

“What?” Lotor’s head snapped back up to look at her in confusion. 

“I…” She started. “I wanted to go back in the Rift for you, but I didn’t know what I would find. I wanted it to be… you, not the Being I turned you into…” 

“You didn’t turn me into anything.” He interrupted. “It had always been inside me, something evil, festering, needling at the surface.” 

“That’s not true.” A whisper.

“A half-truth, then.” 

“I know about the colony.” Ancients, her mouth today, so much for patience and care. “I know that Romelle spoke of only what she thought knew but she didn’t see was her colony was dying. You were saving them.” 

Lotor sat still, not looking at her. 

“You put them on that ship to put them into cryo-sleep to hide and, I’m assuming, save an entire race.” Allura continued. “While it might have looked like what Romelle had said at first, you saved them, didn’t you?”

“I’m told the Galra still managed to find the colony and use the Alteans as a power source for their ships,” Lotor said quietly. Clearly, he had yet to forgive himself of the actions of the past. “I merely helped gather them together to make the worst possible.”

“You didn’t know that would happen.” She defended weakly. “While they may have taken the Alteans, we’re rescuing them and finding safe refuges for them.”

“There were those who died in the process.” He admitted. “Upwards of a hundred. Not necessarily the number of a savior.” 

“I never said you were.” Correcting him, Allura went on. “You wanted to do right and while the process wasn’t clean, it helped the many you could in the end.” 

“But it’s not the end, is it?”

There was a pause between the two and Allura finally had to question him. “What I don’t understand is the lying.” 

A heavy sigh escaped him and he closed his eyes. “I needed to die for the universe to survive.” 

“What?” 

“My father was the one who led the Galra empire to ruin and the universe on the brink of destruction.” Lotor swallowed. “Those who would follow me either did so out of fear of my father since they had no doubt I would be like him or from loyalty. Loyalty wasn’t working, since most thought peace as weak, and I refuse to follow in my father’s footsteps. But after… after spending time with you and the rest of the Paladins, I knew if I were to take myself out of the picture, the universe would be a safer place.” 

“And Haggar had nothing to do with it?” While she did not understand the logic right now, perhaps she would later. In the past she had jumped to conclusions, which did not end well, she wanted to correct her inclination for incorrect assumptions. It had, after all, led to this moment.

A pause and an answer, “I’m not sure to extent of which she had control. But for now, that is the explanation I have.” 

“So you allowed yourself to be hated to hope Voltron would save the universe?” She summarized. Again, she refused to become angry or push him, but she could feel something build in her. Part of it was guilt, but there was another part of her was in disbelief of his logic.

“I thought it might give everyone the push in the right direction.” He shrugged, with a smirk. “If anyone is worth dying for, Princess, it’s you.” 

Allura looked away, partly because she was trying to process the information but also because she didn’t want for him to see her tears. He did not deserve the options he gave himself and refused to share. She knew he had seen the doubt in her eyes when Romelle had spewed her twisted lie and when he had been willing to put aside the fighting, she had told him the worst possible sentence she could have said to him. A cringe came over her as she thought of what he had said that day and what her reply was. 

“I had hoped you would never come for me,” Lotor stated. “I hoped nobody would.” 

“And you have no idea who rescued you?” Allura saw the confused look. “I would assume Dyak, but…” 

“I can only surmise that she found me.” It was carefully stated but it meant a lot nonetheless. 

“She?” The tone was more curious, but Allura suddenly knew and nodded in understanding. Haggar. “Where is she now?” 

“Gone,” Lotor smirked ruefully. 

“Then, she hasn’t had a change of spirit?” Perhaps it was a petty thing to say but Allura couldn’t help the anger that rose up in her from all the pain that witch had caused. An Altean who had caused all their suffering. 

“She is who she is,” Lotor said quietly. “Her weakness calls to her.” 

“So you are to head back to the Galra?” Allura’s eyes narrowed. 

“No.” Firm but not complete. “I have already seen the power of Quintessence. I have lived through it and come out of the other side. There is no need for me to go back and champion something I know to be wrong.” 

A nod of her head and Allura looked to the cane, then back. “Are you unable to fight?” 

“That is unclear.” He shrugged. “But I suspect not enough to have me back on the battlefield.” Seeing the unasked question, Lotor decided to let her know. Rolling up his pant leg, her eyes widened and she held back a gasp. There was a wooden stump. How had she not noticed before? “A token for my sins.” 

Allura felt the guilt burst inside her. One could argue her innocence but it didn’t matter what was in her heart. His pain, all his pain stemmed from her actions. It haunted her every day, from when she was asleep to right now, she didn’t want to accept at first. It had been too much. But now… it was different. What she had been ordered to do and what she had done would forever mark him.

“But enough about me.” Sensing a need in change of topic, Lotor moved on. “What was the cause Voltron vanishing from the universe for almost two years after a brief reappearance?” 

“I said…” 

“I know what you said.” He interrupted, without any hint of malice or boorishness. “But what were these complications?” 

“Shiro had to return to Earth for rehabilitation.” She started carefully. “The others had families to visit, we were able to obtain information from Pidge’s father. And I’m sure you heard of the invasion of Earth.”

“I did.” He acknowledged. “I was glad to hear of the ending.” 

“As you can imagine,” Allura tilted her head. “It took a while for the humans to recover.” 

“And you, Princess.” It was teasing out of the information he knew she was holding back. “How did you like Earth?” 

“The landscape is similar to Altea in many ways, it was refreshing.” Smiling, she remembered the calmness the humans had created on their planet. “It had once been a planet of chaos but became peaceful in the end. It’s very remote too, they’re aware of other worlds but have yet to have much contact. Well, until the invasion. They’re not quite as advanced as we are.” 

“Is that so?” He smiled as if he knew something.

“Yes, and the history is quite complex like I mentioned and…” She paused. “Why are you smiling like that?” 

“I am listening to the history of the Earth.” Shrugging, he gazed at her. “I still find it fascinating it all took so much time to come back.” 

“We needed a new ship.” Allura let some of the information rolled over him and saw the light in his face fade out. “After the… after, we only have the Lions left, so we went back to Earth to obtain a new ship.” 

“Ah.” Lotor lessened the teasing then. “It is a well-built ship, I presume?”

“Yes.” She swallowed. “With the Humans and other Beings working together it is stronger than even the Castle of Lions was. A remarkable feat.”

There was silence between them but Allura could feel her heart racing. Dear Ancients they hadn’t even touched on the most important part and the very large reason she wanted to even see him. But something held her back. She wasn’t sure if it was trust or otherwise. Perhaps it was keeping the family together. It was easier when Nyssa had as many uncles and aunts as she did, they would keep her busy, wouldn’t they? But, having Lotor sit right in front of her, her daughter’s eyes peered at her. Nyssa’s markings littered his face now. Allura knew she couldn’t keep it from him. 

“Lotor.” A shaky breath escaped her. “There were other… happenings on Earth.” 

“You have a mate?” It might have been a half-joke as he said it, but she saw the moment of pain flash through his eyes and she barely let herself hope at that moment. 

“Not really.” 

“Tell me it isn’t the first Black Lion Paladin.” He sighed. “He was…” 

“I had a child.” She rushed and held his eyes, which widened. His jaw slacked a bit as well as if unsure on how to take the initial information. Deciding it was now or never, Allura trudged on. “A daughter. She’s strong, smart and beautiful. Her eyes are blue in the middle and yellow on the outer. She has lovely white hair but was completely bald when she was born. And her skin has the lightest of purple coloring.” 

He closed mouth and swallowed before speaking. Clearly trying to process what she was telling him. “Does she have Altean marks?” 

“Light purple ones.” Allura searched him for any happiness he could be feeling or perhaps something deeper, but she could feel some emotions going over him. “They have a slight jagged curve to them.”

“What’s her name?” His voice a bit rawer than before. 

A soft smile came to Allura’s lips, understanding where he was coming from, how he was piecing it all together. “Nyssa.” 

It was choked laugh that escaped him. “That can’t be all. I know Alteans are fond of their names.” 

“When the war is over I’ll be sure to write it all down for you.” She laughed, somewhat wetly, watching Lotor’s head bow slightly, trying to regain himself. “She’s… she’s here.” 

He snapped back up. “You didn’t leave her on Earth?” 

“No.” Waving off the notion. “Earth is lovely, but I prefer her out here with me. She’s still so small after all.” 

Lotor struggled for a moment and glanced down at himself. Allura could see what he was going through. While a naturally handsome Being, he had also been a well-coiffed one before life didn’t afford him the luxury. His clothing was a bit more rugged than his usual armor and even his royal tunic of before when he was most comfortable. 

“I believe,” She began, “We have some of your old clothes on the ship if you would like to ready yourself to meet her.” 

“Old clothes on a new ship?” He gave her a look, even though his wet eyes, she knew was teasing. 

“I’m sentimental.” A shrug before standing up. “Come, your daughter would like to meet you.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor meets his daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH! Please excuse the lateness on this! I found out I got a new job! SQUEE so it has been a bit of a hectic day. I also bought tickets for C2E2 and making plans for that... Basically, it's been a bit busy and I feel terrible in not updating this morning. 
> 
> Hopefully, this is a perfect fluff chapter for you all to enjoy!

Lotor hadn’t bathed like this in quintants. The controlled heat, the water pressure, the privacy. Although he wasn’t such a stickler for the last part, he enjoyed the public baths as much as the next Being but a little privacy now and again never hurt anyone. He held himself on to the built-in railing, leaning against it while he let the grime seep into the drain below him, his thoughts turned to the past varga of what had happened. 

He wished he could’ve been more surprised Allura had taken the time to find him, let alone engage with him. She had too good of a spirit to let him suffer in peace with Dayak. Gods, she had even looked into the colony. Foolish Altean, he thought fondly as he stood under the shower head. The first round soap was now thoroughly off his body and he began the second. 

However, the true surprise was yet to come. In many of his 10,000 deca-phoebs, he had never allowed himself to think further than his self imposed mission. There were very few times in his long life he had the privilege of seeing a family, let alone being part of one, a true family at least. Even in his darkest moments, he had cared deeply for Allura. While he wouldn’t completely admit it out loud currently, he had. Thoughts of their time together had soothed him and often lulled him to sleep when pains, old and new, sprung up. A child, a being conceived because they had… well, perhaps he would save that thought for later. 

The second round of soap drained much cleaner than the first. Suddenly he wished he had allowed Dayak to help clean himself, it was much easier when someone was able to wash the places he tended to stumble at with his new body.

Allura had looked beautiful when he first saw her. She had cut her hair just at the shoulders, giving her a mature look. Her body had also changed but he thought it might be aging, as she entered her prominent childbearing years. It suited her. The thing he had noticed the most was her scent. It was newish, it was as if he had smelled it before but had forgotten it only to remember again. To him, it was perfect and while they spoke, he thought the answer to the smell would be that she had found someone. But no, she was a mother. And he was a father. 

Turning off the water, he reached for the closest towel and quickly dried off thanking his lucky stars his hair no longer took as much time as it once had. He didn’t want to waste his time on it when he had much more pressing matters to attend to. Carefully, he opened the shower door and prepared himself to figure a way out of the shower without slipping. 

“Need a hand?” A voice caught his attention and he looked up to see the Red Lion’s Paladin looking at him expectantly. Lance, that was his name. “You’ll get to see them faster.” 

Many things had gone out the window when he had lost his leg, including some of his more stubborn tendencies. He nodded. “If you don’t mind.” 

Lance grabbed his arm on the right side and helped him to a wooden bench, no doubt there for instances like this. From there Lotor was able to ready himself with Lance looking at him from the sides. 

“You’re lucky we looked into the colony, otherwise you wouldn’t be here,” Lance growled, clearly primed for a pep talk. 

“I do not doubt it.” He acknowledged, reaching for his wooden… wait, it wasn’t there. 

“Pidge created a prototype.” After seeing the momentary lapse of questioning in Lotor’s eyes, Lance took pity and pointed out the new sleeker metal version. “Once she and Hunk know your measurements better, she’ll be able to fit you with one that actually works.” 

“Thank you,” Lotor said quietly, looking to the new limb. It was cushioned and would work for what he needed for right now. 

He continued to get dressed in silence, hearing only a few quips from Lance. Finally, he was ready to meet his daughter. They walked together, Lance on his right, knowing he would be slightly unstable with a new leg, though it was meant for him to not need a cane. Turning a corner, they came upon a room and Lance turned to Lotor. 

“Listen,” giving Lotor a hard stare, Lance steadily told him, “I get you haven’t had the greatest life, but Allura almost self-destructed after what happened and when she found the truth about the colony…” he just shook his head and continued. “That kid is her only saving grace. You screw this up, I will make your life hell.” 

Lotor paused. While he didn’t know half of what Lance had said, he understood the message the Paladin was getting across. “I promise, you’ll never have to.” 

Seemingly satisfied for now, he nodded his head towards the door. “They’re in there.” 

A breath and Lotor opened the door to possibly the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. They hadn’t noticed him yet, but Allura was on the ground playing with a small child a bit older than six phoebs sitting and playing with a few stuff animals. Laughter rang out from the child’s mouth and her hands clapped gleefully as Allura had the toy pigs chase each other. A shift from him and the child seemed to pick up his scent from across the room, they immediately turned their head. 

Matching eyes, just like Allura said. Purple Altean markings sitting on chubby cheeks against the lightest purple skin he’d ever seen. Everything about her was small, innocent, something he wanted to protect with everything he had. Surprisingly, Nyssa was unafraid and turned to him and swiftly crawled over to him. He could only watch enchanted with the child’s movements. When she got to him, she pulled on his pant leg.

“Nyssa…” Allura’s voice faded as Lotor held up a hand, his eyes steady on the girl. She let him have his space, she understood the fascination with one’s child. 

Nyssa reached up with her small hands, unsteadily and Lotor had no choice but to reach down. Latching onto his hand, she put her nose on his wrist, right at his scent gland, surprising both of the adults in the room, and rubbed it against her own on her neck. Lotor’s breath caught. 

“The humans don’t understand why she does that,” Allura cleared her throat, a little shocked how much emotion the vision before her caused, “but she usually only does it with me.” 

“May I?” He glanced only a second at Allura before getting the okay, he picked up the small girl, who gave a squeal at the attention. “Well, aren’t you beautiful, Nyssa?”

She reached up and patted him on the nose. Lotor chuckled a bit. Then her miniscule hands touched the side of his face and wiped something away. It was there that Lotor realized he had been crying. 

“Dear Gods,” His voice only slightly above a whisper, “it is a wonder how you got your mother’s empathy with my genes.” 

“Trust me,” Allura smiled as she stood, “in the early hours of the morning, I was blaming your genetics enough.” 

He barked out a laugh. “I don’t doubt it.” 

“Here,” she motioned towards a chair. “Sit down, she’ll start to strain your back after a while.” 

Fearing he might fall over with his new leg, he looked to Allura and she seemed to understand his dilemma. Swiftly making it to him, Lotor then sat on the chair and was handed his daughter again. Nyssa yawned a bit a nestled into his chest. He couldn’t look away from her. 

“She is the only good thing I will ever do in my life.” One of his fingers grazed over her cheek. 

“Mine as well.” Allura agreed quietly. 

They stayed there for a few moments as Nyssa fell asleep in his arms for the first time. Coran came upon the scene. He had stumbled upon a similar scene deca-phoebs earlier and then he had only allowed himself a dobash to gaze upon a king and queen looking at their daughter for their first time as a family. Now, he watched as the once small baby was now looking at their own, with her partner. 

“We should put her to bed.” Allura moved away, but Lotor grabbed her hand. Her eyes narrowed in confusion before widening. 

“Thank you.” He whispered. The sincerity in his voice running deep and there was no doubt in her mind that whatever had happened in the Rift had been her fault. She had accused him of going mad, of not hearing his side. While that could wait, for now, she knew they would have to talk about the past later. “I will be forever grateful to you for giving me this peace.” 

“Lotor,” She knelt down to look into watery eyes and she touched his cheek. “This peace will be here from now on.” 

From there Coran quietly walked away. While he didn’t necessarily trust the Half-Altaen, he knew the moments they had could not be faked. Coran didn’t want to believe Lotor would deceive them again, good or bad, but he could only question the hidden emperor. 

“Hey Coran,” Hunk interrupted him from his thoughts, “do you think Allura’s baby daddy is going to join us for dinner?”

“I believe he and Allura are both preoccupied,” Coran informed. 

“Gross.” Making a face, Hunk rolled his eyes. “Could you not let us know when they’re doing… that stuff?” 

“What are you…” Realization hit him. “That is not at all what I meant!” 

“Sure it isn’t.” He rolled his eyes. “Lotor comes back and you expect to believe they’re not in there doing…” 

“He’s spending time with his daughter!” Coran stopped him. “Of all the…” 

“Coran?” Allura cautiously walked out of the room with Lotor trailing a bit behind her. “Is something the matter?” 

“Nope.” Hunk was the first to answer and indicated Lotor. “I was just wondering I needed to set out an extra plate for your baby daddy?” 

“My…” It took her a moment before coming to an understanding. “You mean Lotor?”

“I wouldn’t want to impose.” Lotor put up his hand to stop them from discussing further. 

“We have plenty.” Hunk shrugged. “Plus, Pidge wants to outfit your leg thing.” 

While the leg clearly was a sore issue for the wayward emperor, Hunk did not catch on, Allura and Coran could see a bit of discomfort. Though he had spent much of his life scrutinized and openly disliked, adding a missing half-leg did not add to his self-esteem. 

“Perhaps Pidge could wait until tomorrow,” Allura suggested. After all, it had been quite a day for the newly found father. “We all need some rest.” 

“And I mustn’t stay too late.” Lotor nodded. 

“But we leave tomorrow.” Hunk blurted out.

“What?” Lotor and Allura’s eyes widened at the news. 

“I thought he was coming with us.” Confused, Hunk looked between them and finally noticed the tension. “So… I guess I’ll put another dish out.” 

“I should go help.” Making a hasty exit, Coran went with Hunk leaving Allura and Lotor in silence. 

“You,” They both started. 

“Please.” Lotor indicated. 

Allura took a breath. “You should come with us.” 

“Princess.” 

“Hear me out.” She pleaded. “I know you feel as though the universe doesn’t need you, that your people don’t need you, but they do, Lotor. Your death was mourned by all of those who had hope and with your absence, the Galra Empire fell deeper into chaos.” 

“And the insanity rumors?” He ventured. “The Colony? No, the Galra have a need for this emperor. Let them destroy themselves with their piracy and damaged commands.” 

“You can right whatever wrong you feel the need to.” Allura would not let up. “Prove to the universe you are not who the Generals say you are. Prove to them you are more than what they deem to believe.” 

He took in her thoughts for a moment before saying, “I highly doubt the Galra would let me rule when they knew I was half-Galra, what makes you think they would allow a broken one at that.” 

“You’re not broken!” She almost shouted and probably would have if she didn’t remember they were standing outside of their sleeping daughter’s open room. They had spoken of what he had perceived as his shortfalls before, apparently, they would have to again. “It’s an excuse! Plenty of Galra have two limbs let alone three. You’re just afraid!” 

“Of course I am!” He hissed. “Not only could I lose the empire, let alone bring peace to the worlds, but I could also lose two beings I hold most dear! I am not willing to give that up!” 

Stunned for a moment, Allura wanted to push further. “You are so selfish!”

“Excuse me?” 

“You!” Okay, she had lost it. “Who thinks dying, disappearing solves everything and then expecting not to be found, wanting to wallow away? How could that not be selfish?” 

“I did it for the betterment of the universe!” Shocked at the change of events, Lotor was not going to back down. 

“You did it because you are scared!” Now would have been a good time to lower her voice but hopefully, the quieting bubble she had set around Nyssa would hold up. 

“No. Without me, Voltron would be able to take back the majority of Galra Empire under Altean rule, while the rest could return to their ways before the Galra invaded.” Trying to regain his calm demeanor, Lotor knew he had to prove he was right. It had been a while, he realized a bit too late. “Voltron could be the hero, the defender of the universe, the bringer of peace! If I had stayed, the Galra would still have been fighting against another, alliances would have fallen through and the likelihood of a peaceful universe would not be obtainable.” 

“You were in the middle of peace negotiations with the Galra.” She sighed. Some of this could be denied but perhaps that was the biggest one. “Why do you think we would do better?”

“Because you would be able to destroy them!” 

“Everything okay here?” Keith’s voice called out to the two and they looked at him. 

“Fine.” Allura bit out, knowing this may not be the place or time for this conversation to be happening.

“Okay.” He slowly approached them and patted Lotor on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you’re back.” Then walked away. 

The two let the silence settle over them before deciding on something. 

“Lotor.” Allura began. “Don’t let your fear of being found take you away from us again. I… I would like for Nyssa to know her father.” 

It took him time to speak, but when he finally did, it was much quieter than before. “I would like to know her as well. If there was a way to accommodate… my hesitancy, I would like to stay.” 

Allura nodded. “We could.” A pause. “Come, dinner is waiting.” 

The two made their way to the dining hall in silence, not wanting to start another discussion but also trying to hone in on the usual ruckus dining with the Paladins and much of the crew were enjoying their meals. Of course, before they even entered the hall, the noise was heard well beyond the entrance.

“It’s good to know some things never change,” Lotor noted and Allura gave a smirk as they entered the large informal room and were mostly ignored as the others spoke.

“... don’t tell me you forgot that!” Lance stared at Keith flabbergasted.

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you.” Keith shrugged. “I was in that class for two seconds.”

“On my dime,” Shiro grumbled. 

“Yep.” Adam commiserated. 

“Question!” Hunk held up his fork to signal his turn. “Why do you still care? ‘Cause like, saving the universe and all that is more important than a class.” 

“Because returning to Earth made me think about my legacy!” Clearly trying to make a point, Lance threw his arms up. “The Garrison is just going to remember me because I chased after Keith into space.” 

“Yeah, he did.” Pidge snickered to Hunk. They high-fived and Lance scowled.

“I don’t know about that, Lance.” Allura delicately spoke, calming down a bit after her talk with Lotor. “I’d say your legacy is quite notable.” 

“Yeah?” Ignoring Pidge’s comment, he focused on Allura, “How?” 

“Your family.” She simply stated. “Meeting them and how they looked up to you was rather significant in my book. That was the legacy you left behind. The Garrison is only a small part of who you are.” 

“Plus, Keith was in it for like what two years before he was kicked out?” Hunk added. “What kind of legacy did he leave besides bad karma for when he has kids?”

“I ran away.” Keith corrected.

“You were kicked out.” The three younger people gave him a look and Keith looked to Shiro.

“I was in space prison.” Shrugging Shiro told him. “I don’t have any say in this.” 

“He was kicked out,” Adam admitted as Keith shot him a look of betrayal, to which Adam could only raise his hands in defense and say. “I’m just happy we were refunded for the rest of the year.” 

“So much for defenders of the universe,” Keith grumbled. 

“Allura’s right though, legacies aren’t everything.” Shiro pointed out. “One group might think you’re a savior, while the other the oppressor. What matters are the people you surround yourself with and how they will remember you.” 

“Thanks, Allura and Shiro.” Still pouting a bit Keith took a solemn bite of his food. 

“To be clear,” Lance spoke up, “Allura’s pep talk was directed towards me.” 

“Whatever, perezoso,” Keith said under his breath. 

Immediately perked up and pointed at the man across from him. “You do remember!” 

“Okay, we’re done with this conversation.” Hunk put his foot down. “We have some things to sort out.” 

“We’re not taking on another shipment of that food goop.” Shaking his head, Shiro sighed knowing what Hunk actually wanted to discuss. “The crew was complaining we had too much in the first place.” 

“Man…” 

“I take it Lotor is staying?” Lance looked at the Being he was talking about, and Lotor made a note the stare was different than last time, but a bit undefinable. 

“Yes,” Lotor spoke for himself. 

“So you’re going to what, take back the universe and fight against the Galra?” Pidge asked skeptically.

“No.” There was a surprised look from everyone and Lotor amended. “Not at this point. I would rather stay behind with Nyssa. Given as many of you already have your stations, my place should be watching Nyssa to relieve you to fight for peace in the universe. As many of you are caregivers towards her, of which I am eternally grateful for, this is the very least I could do.” 

“That would be helpful.” Shiro agreed as everyone else stared in shock, but he seemed understanding. 

“Fine.” Keith nodded. “Our next rendezvous point is with the leaders of the remaining free planets. It’s probably best you’re not in sight anyway.” 

“Of course.” Lotor took a bite, silently accepting the dismissal. 

“The Resistance will also be there as well,” Pidge spoke up. “They’re bringing in their latest reports…”

Lotor mildly listened to the talk going on around him. It appeared the Paladins had indeed grown much over the past few deca-phoebs. Especially the female beside him. Glancing over Allura a bit more. She was still beautiful, he noted again, perhaps even more so, maturity suited her, as did motherhood. But she seemed more weighted by something and he could only predict it was because of his presence. He was surprised that the others so readily agreed to sit with him again in a companionable breaking of bread. Even more so, they were willing to speak of their plans. 

Although, they probably also saw him as less of a threat than before, even if Paladin Lance was giving him a glare every now and again. The rest didn’t seem to mind his presence, even the new crew member, while curious, weren’t giving him a threatening glance. Strange to be back in the presence of the Paladins. Their familial tendencies were of much comfort but at the same time caused him to wonder what he had missed out on as a child, or even an adult. There was one question circling his head, how much longer would they tolerate him before they grew too weary again? Would it be long enough for him to prove to them he was worthy of their attention, that he would never hurt them again? Could Allura forgive him?

“I believe we will make our case quite well,” the conversation was clearly wrapping up, Allura glanced at everyone. “With the Alliance joining forces again and providing a cohesive front, peace will prevail.” 

“Perfect!” Hunk cheered. “I’m going to make sure the menu will represent everyone and get everyone ready for some peace talks.” 

“The Blades are already on their way to the Alliance’s planets with some of the leaders of the harder to get planets.” Keith checked his side of things.

“Matt is on his way with the rest of the Resistance leaders.” Pidge nodded.

“Veronica has opened a communication line to the Garrison,” Lance spoke. “They want to make sure they don’t need to send any troops yet.” 

“Sounds like everything is in order then.” Shiro smiled at his original team. 

“Then, we should be off.” Allura stood, glancing at Lotor, who followed her lead. “Nyssa will be waking from her nap soon to feed.” 

“Wait!” Lance looked between the two and pointed at Lotor. “Is he staying with you?” 

Not wanting to a larger ruckus as Lance already was, Allura calmly stated. “Yes. We have a spare bedroom in our quarters, remember Lance?”

Giving another glare, Lance crossed his arms. 

“It’ll give him a chance to be closer to Nyssa.” Letting the two have an out Keith agreed. “Makes sense. We should head to the training bay.” 

“We’re always going to the training bay.” Lance gave a large sigh before following Keith out of the area. 

“Well,” Hunk looked to Pidge, “ready to go check with Sam about the wormhole extension?” 

“Sure.” Pidge went with Hunk, leaving the four glancing at each other.

“I’m sure we could use a rest.” Offering her hand towards Lotor, Allura patiently waited for him to take it, knowing he would have an easier time balancing until Pidge figured out a better fit for him. 

“Indeed.” Decidedly agreeing, Lotor took the offered help and the two left, with Lotor leaning slightly on Allura. 

Adam watched the two leave as he helped clean up the table. Glancing over at Shiro, he asked. “So that’s Nyssa’s other parent?” 

“Yep.” Shiro gathered the plates. 

“And he’s a Galran prince?” 

“Technically he’s the emperor,” A quick thought. “Or ex-emperor now?” 

“Who’s half Altean?” 

“Yep.” They were walking to the cleaning area. 

“And you think he’s good for her?” Placing the dishes into the automatic washer, Adam looked to Shiro. 

“I think it’s complicated.” He sighed. 

“It’s always complicated.” Adam corrected.

“Shay and Hunk aren’t.” 

“I have no idea who that is.” Giving a look, Adam and Shiro began to walk back to their respective quarters. “Wait, the Balmaran he’s seeing right?” 

“Yeah.” Shiro shrugged. “They have it all figured out. After this war, Hunk is going to stop being the Yellow Paladin, take up part of an ambassadorship with Balmara and Earth and split time between the two.” 

“He’d be good at that.” Adam nodded. “He did well in his mechanic and diplomat classes. He actually wasn’t terrible in medic classes either.” 

“He was in your classes?” He asked.

“Top of them too.” They were getting close to their side-by-side quarters. Adam paused a bit. “Shiro, you’ve built a wonderful team, really.” 

“This crew of misfits?” Shiro joked a bit before smiling. “Thank you, Adam. And thanks for joining.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Working out some of the details and then some.

Lotor carefully lifted himself up and at first uneasily stood up, getting used to the new limb attached. He stretched it a bit, expecting it to be heavy when it was much lighter than he thought it was going to be. Putting some weight on it, he felt how everything clicked into place and while it had burned at first, it now felt more commonplace than not having it there. 

“Well?” Pidge asked while Adam was putting away his medical supplies. “How are you feeling?” 

“Fine.” He told her. 

“Good.” She nodded. “You’re going to have to pretty much relearn everything again in terms of walking, running, fighting, and even getting out of chairs but I don’t think it will take you a long time.” 

“How long?” Walking around the room, slightly wobbly, he made it out fine the second go around.

“If you keep it up this way,” Shrugging, Pidge told him. “I would give it another day or so before you start running, then move on to something more strenuous like fighting when you feel like you can move quickly again. Shiro will be able to help with some of the rehabilitation.” 

“Are you able to put enhancements in this?” Merely curious, he wanted to know more about the metal currently holding him up.

“I don’t know if I could but we could probably talk to a better Being versed in prosthetics and Galra anatomy.” She said. “It would have to connect to… You know, never mind, they’ll know better.” 

Nodding, Lotor continued to walk around, getting used to the feeling of his lost limb listening to him again. 

“So,” breaking him from his thoughts, Pidge observed him carefully. “You’re really not going to be fighting with us?”

“I find it more pressing to stay with Nyssa at the present,” He stated carefully. “As you said it will take me time to relearn what I already know. But I will only come out when necessary. I would rather leave the saving of the universe up to Voltron.” 

She took in the information and then started another startling revelation. “I’m sorry we didn’t listen to your side of the colony or we didn’t take the time to actually investigate the 2nd colony before the Galra took it.” 

“I do not blame you.” It had been years since he really talked about the Colony. “The missing pieces were unavailable and...” 

“But you didn’t defend yourself.” Pidge pushed. “You just agreed with Romelle.” 

Still trying to focus on his new range of movements than the conversation, Lotor moved around the room. “She had a right to believe what she did. And some had… passed.” 

“Still,” Clearly, Pidge did not want to let this go. “You saved thousands of Alteans. Romelle….” 

“Couldn’t have known any of that. Her memories were distorted.” He said quietly. “It is better you had believed her and not me.” 

“It was a lie though!” Angrily, Pidge was at a loss. She wanted to get through to him, to tell him he should’ve said something. “Even if she didn’t know it!”

Taking a moment, Lotor slowly explained. “If the outpost Colony had been discovered Zarkon, or whoever else, would have destroyed them as he did the planet colony.” 

“I don’t get how your not upset about this.” Pidge threw out there.

“The majority of my life has been spent in hatred and it has never amounted to anything truly useful.” He sighed. “My anger should not be the force in which I live my life or rule. I knew when Allura and I had gone into the Rift, it would be only a matter of time before the Quintessences would expound my hatred and there would be nothing left.” 

“So you planned to be outcasted all along.” The thought made her gasp. “When did you decide that?” 

“Oriande.” Feeling his 10,000 deca-phoebs, Lotor slumped a bit. “Allura acted selflessly, she gave her life for knowledge, I only wanted to destroy, conquer it. In that way, I had become my father and… I knew.” 

Listening, Pidge barely processed he had stopped talking but she had got the gist of what he was saying. “Now what?” 

“Sorry?” 

“What are you going to do now?” Asking the question again, Pidge hoped to get a better answer. 

“I will be taking care of…” 

“Oh, that’s such crap!” Pidge almost shouted and even Adam gave her a side-eye. “I mean, it’s great that you want to spend time with your daughter, she’s amazing, don’t get me wrong. But you can’t just stop being emperor of one of the largest empires in the galaxy. Ones who are fighting over territory.” 

“They were fighting over it before.” He reminded.

“Sure!” She shrugged. “But you could stop them. You have their ear!” 

For once, he seemed a bit out of sorts. Lotor sighed. “I… I can’t.” 

“Why not?!” Beyond frustrated Pidge couldn’t understand. 

“Because hopefully by the end of this war there won’t be a Galra Empire to rule over.” 

Pidge stopped. 

“Lotor,” Adam cut in at that moment, saving the half-Galran from the onslaught of questioning. “Perhaps it would be best to try walking further distances than this room? It’ll be better for your rehabilitation.” 

“Thank you for the suggestion, Doctor, excuse me.” Lotor pardoned himself from the medical area and went into the hallway, deciding he really needed a way out of those conversations better. He had barely had them with himself let alone others. 

“Lotor.” Allura’s hand caught him and he turned to face her. She appeared concerned but then looked down and smiled. “Oh! Pidge fitted your leg. How do you feel?” 

“Fine.” Giving a small smile, he glanced her over. “Everything alright?” 

She hesitated for a moment and then took his hand, “Would you like some green tea? It was my favorite drink on Earth.”

“Of course.” His focus was more on their connected hands, but he managed to look directly at her. 

Leading him to their quarters, Allura took them to the small kitchenette area and arranged the water boiler and prepared two mugs. She made idle talk as she did so and he sat down at one of the chairs by a small table. 

“The Earthling doctors told me I couldn’t have a lot it when I was with Nyssa, due to the caffeine,” Completely obviously to his unease of what to expect next. “Of course, they don’t know enough about Altean births to truly give advice. I mean they barely knew what to expect to know of human births at one point only a hundred years ago or so.” 

Lotor wasn’t sure exactly where this was going but he accepted the information. It was interesting after all, especially not having been there, he wanted to know more about the process. From the very little he had read about Earth, he wasn’t incredibly surprised the medical was less on par than what they were used to. But also, he wanted to know how Allura had faired throughout the pregnancy without asking outright. He was all too aware of the risks of when one mate was not there for the other. 

“Can you believe a civilization not willing to research the limits of the gestation and how to maintain the health of the carrier?” Allura was now doing something else he couldn’t see but he assumed it had to do with the tea. “It’s absurd! The carrier not having an understanding of their body and the others unsure of how to detect anything to ensure the safety of the carrier and child. Ludicrous!” 

The teapot whistled and she swiftly took it off. Coming over she placed the mugs for the both of them.

“Thank you.” He said quietly. 

“Let it sit for a moment,” Allura advised, taking a seat next to him. There was a pause before she went on. “You know, no one is going to make you fight again if you don’t want to. I’m sorry for trying to push you earlier.” 

Collecting his thoughts, Lotor continued, “I don’t want to be that person any longer.” 

She seemed to understand what he meant by nodding. “You never were, if it makes you feel any better.” 

Cocking his head, he wanted to know exactly what she meant by that.

“I mean,” amending herself, she explained. “We all do or say things we’re not proud of, but it doesn’t make you who you are.” 

“A Being’s action defines them.” Giving her a cautious look. “While I may not be all of my actions, there was some truth there.”

“Be that as it may,” she shrugged. “You don’t have to make it everything you do in the future. You are not irremediable.” 

It caught him off guard the wave of emotion that came over him as she said that. While he wasn’t exactly sure what feelings were going through him were, he knew it was too much. When she touches his hand again, he resisted the urge to grab back.

“We all have things we regret.” Her voice was kind and he was so deathly afraid it was a trick. 

“I highly doubt you could regret anything, Princess.” He chastised.

“I didn’t let you finish your side of the story.” She nodded. “You wouldn’t have but your reasoning made sense.” A squeeze for reassurance. “You have more to offer if you would like to continue our work from years ago even if it’s just tiny bit. Or if you would like to be there for Nyssa, I think you would be wonderful at that as well.”

She was giving him a choice. Perhaps there was more working with Voltron, or he could be the main caregiver to a daughter he had only begun to know and love. It was tempting to go back into his role, or a variation of it, with Voltron but he had seen enough destruction. Peace, furthering the next generation was what he wanted to invest in now. But maybe, later on, it could be different. For now, Nyssa’s eyes and smile beckoned to him and he was going to listen to it. 

“You can always change your mind, Lotor.” Sensing the apprehension, Allura assured him. “As I said, you are more than just a moment.” 

“Thank you.” Finally, he squeezed her hand back.

“You’re welcome.” She smiled. A cry sounded in the shared space. “Besides, I’ve changed enough diapers, I believe it’s your turn.” 

+++++++

Pidge sighed as she watched Lotor go through a few movements to test his strength with Shiro and nudged Allura next to her. “So he’s basically babysitting his daughter?”

“He’s parenting.” Allura rolled her eyes. Sometimes the Paladins still had the old ways about them. “But he could come back if he so desired.” 

“You want him to come back.” Pidge pointed out while observing how her leg worked with its new owner. 

“Of course I do, but I have to support my partner in whatever he decides.” Knowing it was no secret, Allura had to let Lotor recover and each had their own problems to work out. They had to rebuild. 

“Partner?” Heading whipping around at the words, Pidge couldn’t help but feel shocked. 

“He is Nyssa’s father.” Allura pointed out, unsure what she had said wrong.

“Right,” Agreeing slowly, Pidge went on. “But like are you talking about a co-parenting partner or like a relationship partner or both?” 

Seeing the folly in her word choice, Allura would have liked to try and explain what she felt towards the Being but decided on, “Co-parenting partner and hopefully, friend.” 

“That’s all?” Seeing the indecisiveness in Allura’s eyes, Pidge knew there was more. “You don’t want him as a partner, like a relationship?” Then remembering words that had been used in the past. “Or a mate?” 

“I never said that.” She said quickly. “But… I don’t think we can make that decision as of right now.” 

“Fair.” Nodding, Pidge sighed heavily. “I wish he would at least consider coming back into the ranks of this war. Many a general or something.” 

“Agreed.” Allura watched as the very Being went through a round of stretches. She had almost forgotten how flexible he was... No, he was... never mind. “He’s a brilliant strategist and diplomat, it was always beneficial to have him on our side.” 

“Just that?” Pidge gave her a smirk.

“Oh hush.” Rolling her eyes, Allura couldn’t help the half smile on her face. “He’s also a good warrior.” 

“With a strong jawline and rippling muscles and…” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be overseeing the new adjustments to the wormhole?” Not amused at Pidge’s poking, Allura couldn’t decide if it was because Pidge pointed out a few of her weaknesses around the Being or because Pidge, who rarely commented on one's physical attributes, noticed Lotor’s. 

“Dad’s got it covered.” She shrugged. “Plus I want to see if I need to fix anything on the leg.” 

“It seems to be working well.” Allura complimented, watching Lotor dodge a slow thrust and find his footing quickly. While he had lost some of his muscle mass, she had no doubt he would be able to build it back up soon enough. However, the new more lithe body also suited him. Biting the inside of her cheek, Allura chastised herself for the thoughts. Truly, they had too much work to do before she even thought of the physical.

“He’s working with muscle memory, which is both good and bad.” Pidge nodded, watching carefully how everything was moving and noted if there could be an adjustment here or there. “Lotor’s training is helping him push through some pain he may be feeling right now, but he might push himself too much. Shiro’s on a strict training regime with him but you know how those two like to push themselves.” 

“Why push himself for something he claims, he doesn’t want?” The words came out a little bitter but Allura kept most of it to herself.

“Hey,” apparently not enough. “I’m on the same side as you, but Lotor has to come onto his own like you said. Give him time, he’ll grow bored and want to help out in no time.” 

“You yelled at him as well, then?” Allura ventured.

“Of course I did!” Pidge bit out. “His scientific research alone could help us leaps and bounds. I’m big enough to recognize it. Plus Dad would probably like another dad to rant about their kids with.” 

“Understandable.”

Below the two women, the two male Beings went through another round of sets of exercises. Both were a bit out of breath but the workout was necessary to build Lotor back up again. It was difficult at first, bringing Lotor out into the work-out center, especially with the crowd that had started to build once the news of the ex-Galran Emperor had broken out across the ship. However, Lotor took it in stride. When Allura had shown up, he couldn’t help himself but push a bit more than necessary and ignore the twinge in his upper leg. 

“It’s better if you stretch it out to the right.” Correcting Lotor’s posture, Shiro nodded. “Good, now hold.” 

Shiro observed the movements, being familiar with calisthenics, he took it upon himself to help with the ex-emperor’s movements. It had helped him back in his day and so he hoped it would help the half-Galran. Overall, the Being seemed fairly healthy, perhaps a bit out of sorts and slightly malnourished but who wouldn’t be after everything he went through. No, Shiro knew what it was like to come back and try everything you had done before. It wouldn’t work. 

“You’re a bit stiff in your midsection,” Shiro pointed out. “Try to loosen it.”

Seeing the lift of the brow, Lotor still obeyed. 

“Let’s take a break.” Satisfied, Shiro took two water bottles and handed one to Lotor as he sat. 

Panting and whispers filled the training bay from the onlookers in the windows and the two sitting in the bleachers. Lotor briefly caught Allura’s eyes before flickering back to Shiro.

“For being out of commission for a while,” Shiro started. “You’re doing a great job.”

“The Garla have training for this sort of thing.” Lotor took a gulp of water. “I should have been better months ago.”

Knowing the other’s penchant for perfection, Shiro silently sympathized and moved to the next topic, “When did you get out?” 

There was a pause, perhaps out of thought but also a bit of shock, “Four years ago, almost five according to this timeline.” 

Taking in the information, Shiro nodded. “It took you a while to recover?” 

“You could say that.” 

Shiro could sense the bit of animosity but also regret. Both of which were valid emotions. Although, the regret was interesting to him. Animosity was a no brainer, the team had left him to rot in the Rift. They had chosen to leave him for dead. He would feel the same. The regret was something to unpack. Why feel regret towards something you hadn’t done? Regardless, Shiro felt a need to explain his team’s actions.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said strongly. “I know you’re probably hearing it a lot but I think you deserve it.”

“You were not… yourself.” Choosing his words carefully, Lotor kept going with a bit of bite. “The witch was controlling you.”

“She tends to do that.” He agreed. “But regardless, we should have listened to your end of the story. And again, I know everyone is saying this to you, but there’s always more than what others think. And everyone is on your side now.”

“Is that why they have been surveilling me nonstop?” Alright, so he had noticed but for the wrong reasons.

“Actually yeah.” Trying to take the hurt out of the male’s face, Shiro explained. “They want to make sure you’re not going to topple over.”

Something akin to regret passed through his features and Lotor glanced away. “It’s still difficult to understand why any of you would choose to…”

“Be nice to you?” Helping him out, Shiro smiled as he saw Lotor agree slightly. “Well, aside from being Nyssa’s father, you’re still someone who cares deeply for this mission. We didn’t give you a chance to explain and that’s on us, so I think this is how we’re going to try and make up for it. You deserve allies who are willing to take up the mantel for you while you rest up and retrain.”

“I doubt your allies would take kindly to helping me.” A bit in disbelief still, Lotor had to go through all scenarios. 

“They know about the colonies.” Shiro shrugged. “They know that the 2nd one is still missing with the rest of the Alteans on it and the first one was destroyed by your father many years ago, that none of that was your fault.” 

“And the witch’s mind control?” Lotor ventured. “You think they would want another Being fallen prey to her mind tricks?”

“But you’re not.” Giving a side-eye, he asked. “Are you?” 

“No.” A sigh escaped him. “The entity that she uses for that, while kept me alive in the Rift, also was taken out once I was pulled from it.”

“Entity?” His brows furrowed and then realized what he was saying. “Oh! Yeah, once Allura took it out of Romelle, she began to remember what actually happened on the Colony.”

“How were you able to contain it?” He asked.

“Allura.” Shiro shrugged. “I wish I had an explanation but everything happened pretty quickly after that. And we didn’t contain it as much as destroy it.” 

“You were able to destroy it?” Lotor’s head turned towards the other quickly.

“Well,” Shiro tilted his head, “not so much others but Allura. She was able to destroy it.”

His eyes flickered up to Allura again, before hold Shiro’s steady. “Are you positive?”

“You can ask her yourself.” Standing again, Shiro rolled his neck. “But we have one more round to go.” 

While the rest of the crew was watching, or enjoying, the workout between the Captain of the Atlas and the last Emperor of the Galra, Keith, and Lance were sitting in the bridge. It was void of the rest of the crew, despite what the assignments on the boards had said. However, it was quite nice to enjoy the stillness of the space that they rarely enjoyed any more. Before the crew had grown, it had just been the seven of them with occasional guests. Now, it was over fifty Beings on the ship at various times. Like one huge dysfunctional family. 

“How do you think this is going to all turn out?” Lance asked taking a sip of his drink as he lounged in the chair. “I mean, it could be good, bad, ugly.” 

“You’re overthinking it.” Keeping watch over the controls, Keith stabilized the ship a bit more. 

“I’m not at all actually.” He insisted. “I mean, I get the dude is Nyssa’s dad and tried to help save the universe but can we actually trust him now? Like are we just going to roll over any time he says something?” 

“Allura said he wants to spend time with Nyssa and he doesn’t want to deal with any of this right now.” Keith shrugged. “And we’re not rolling over for him.” 

“But what about Allura?” Looking over to Keith, he needed someone else to understand. “You don’t think everything could go terribly wrong if they get back together?”

“I think everything could go terribly wrong even they don’t.” Narrowing his brow, Keith asked. “Why do we need to talk about their relationship? I thought you were over her?”

“Of course, I’m over her.” Lance rolled his eyes. “But I need to express my concern.” 

Giving a huff, Keith focused back on the controls. “I think they are adults and if they get back together, great, but if they don’t they’ll have a strong alliance.” 

“If everything goes according to plan.” 

“Wow, negative much?” Keith shot back. “I thought that was my role?” 

“No, you’re just broody, silent type.” Lance corrected. “I’m the angsty, boyish charm type.” 

“You’re an idiot.” The comment didn’t hold much bite to it and was softened with a small smirk. 

Between the two there was a pause and both gazed out to the space they were currently occupying. Nothing was in sight of the large, expansive window. Stars for miles, though they knew they were getting close to their destination. They would have a couple days to go over the talks in relative peace and figure out what to do from there. 

“Keith?” Lance started. “Do you ever wonder what we’re going to do after this?” 

“What like Voltron or after Voltron?” Wanting clarification, Keith wasn’t sure where this was going. 

“After Voltron.” He answered. “I mean, there are always going to be bad guys and people who need help, so Voltron has to be there but what happens after Voltron for us?” 

“I like that you assume we all live.”

“Now who’s the downer?” Lance grumbled. “But seriously, like I know Hunk and Shay have their plans. Pidge will probably just keep traveling the universe, bringing back the tech to Earth. Allura and Lotor have a kid but they’re also rulers so I mean they’ll probably do that.

“Shiro…” Pausing for a second, Lance ventured. “Shiro is probably just going to sleep all the time.” 

“Nah,” Keith shook his head. “He’ll go teach at the Garrison or something or build an outpost here.” 

“Would you help him?” Lance asked. 

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Maybe.” Another pause. “Okay! So what are you going to do?” 

“Probably stay out here, relax, maybe be an Earth ambassador or something.” A smile came to his face. “Be with someone, get some kids, like a whole slew of them.” 

“You got baby fever dude.” Keith chuckled. 

“So?” Slouching more in his chair, he continued. “I mean, yeah, I like kids, sue me. We’re surrounded by so much destruction and stuff, that it would be nice to have something to look forward to. Bring back some life, I guess. Plus after this you know there’s going to be a ton of kids without homes and I wouldn’t mind offering up some room.” 

“You’re basically saying you’re done with Voltron after this war?” Keith questioned. 

“I guess.” Lance acknowledged. “I mean, this is great but like I said, I’m kind of done killing things and seeing how horrible everything is. Maybe do some good elsewhere, do some good. I don’t know.” 

Pausing for a moment, Keith collected his thoughts before saying, “You don’t just destroy, Lance. You’re already bringing Beings together and creating homes for people. We have other things to do right now.” 

“It’s not so bad if you look at it like that.” Lance smiled to himself. “But seriously, you don’t see yourself stopping Voltron? Stop fighting?” 

“I… honestly haven’t really thought about it.” He admitted. 

“But you said you understood Hunk’s choice.” Lance pointed out.

“Yeah but I haven’t thought about it.” Checking the course out of habit and to avoid the other’s eyes, Keith recalculated for a moment. “I mean, I’ve thought about helping the Mamora with relief efforts and stuff, I guess. Maybe do what Hunk’s doing and be an ambassador for the Galra and Earth?” 

“With your hot head?” Lance joked.

“Hey!” 

“I’m just kidding.” Smiling, Lance nodded. “That’s a good idea though.” A pause. “What about personally?” 

“You mean like kids and stuff?” Keith asked slowly.

“Yeah.” Secretly, Lance’s heart pounded waiting for the answer. “Like do think you’ll have one or whatever?” 

Keith paused and he looked out to the expansive view of their star system. Trying to come up with the vision in his head and relay it to the person across from him. Finally, he decided to say. “Sure, I guess.” 

“Seriously? That’s all you have to say?” It sounded a bit more accusatory than he meant it, Lance rolled with it. 

“What do you want me to say?” Keith’s voice raised a bit.

“Oh, I don’t know?” Lance mocked him. “Something more than Sure I guess when you’re talking about taking care of life!” 

“I mean, sure!” Correcting his past words, Keith rolled his eyes. “It would be great with the right person to do that! But who knows when that will happen!” 

Pausing, Lance collected his thoughts and decided to ask in a low voice, “So there’s no one you see yourself doing that with right now?”

“Hey, you two!” Veronica practically bounced back onto the bridge with a few of the crew behind her. “You guys missed out on a show.” 

“I’m sure nothing we haven’t seen before.” Dragging his eyes from Keith, Lance through his tone into a false perky sound. “I should see if Hunk needs some help with dinner.” 

“Wait,” Veronica caught her brother by the arm and gazed at him for a moment and asked in a quiet voice. “You okay?” 

“Yeah!” Again, with the veneer of happiness, Lance answered her. “Just getting hangry.” 

He left the bridge.

Veronica looked back to Keith as he slumped down in his seat with a heavy sigh.   
Twisting her mouth to the right, she silently wondered how much longer this was going to take. And she wasn’t referring to the mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comment and kudos! For those caught in the polar vortex, stay warm and safe, and avoid the frost quakes (who knew that was a thing). 
> 
> See you next week :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only shit... we're at chapter 10!?

Lance hated these meetings. And he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one gaging by everyone’s faces, except for Allura and Shiro, they were good at keeping it together when they wanted to. He also hated the fact that they couldn’t just wear their garrison uniforms instead of their Paladin armor. Were they expecting a coup or something? Heck, no! But here he was in his armor, listening to an update he heard at least twice before. 

Although it was pretty cool to see Matt again since he brought a sonogram picture of his and Rini’s kid. That was neat. Then there were a couple Beings who he had gotten to know over the years and seeing them was great too. Okay, so conferences weren’t terrible but they weren’t exactly fun either. 

“...you’re saying we can’t shoot down the aircraft because they have Alteans in them?” A leader from one of the groups spoke up, catching Lance’s ear. “I’m sorry, Princess, if enemy warcraft is coming for my people, I will do so.” 

“I expect that,” Allura said in her calm way when she spoke either with Beings she didn’t like or Nyssa. “But I am asking you to retrieve the ship afterward, as the Altean will be in there surrounded by safety padding. The Galra planned for any fallen ships to rescue the Alteans to… reuse them.” 

God, that had to be painful. 

“Even with the Robeast, Princess?” An Okarien, who was not Ryanair answered. Pidge had been disappointed in that. More than disappointed. “They do not let one get close easily. Our home was completely destroyed by them and you expect us to stop and collect the Alteans?”

“I am merely asking for you to try and save my people as I do yours.” Allura’s eyes swept across the room and some looked ashamed, others not as much. 

“Fair enough, Princess.” 

“So what does our intelligence tell us of the Galra?” A Being piped up after a beat.

“According to what we were able to allocate from all of our combined data,” Shiro started. “That we…” 

“You think you could look more bored?” A sudden quiet voice to his right made him jump a bit and glare at its owner. “What?”

“You should be paying attention,” Not in the mood for a conversation either, Lance turned back to the data sets he had literally watched Pidge do two hours ago. They were outnumbered, even with the Alliance, since some planets had gone back to the Galra Empire when their economies became unstable without the protection of the Alliance. The Galra had a percentage of the universe. The outreach to hidden Blades was successful. They could probably get more, blah, blah blah. 

“You’re not.” Keith pointed out. 

Lance scoffed.

“What happened the other day?” He asked quietly. 

“What are you talking about?” Refusing to tear his eyes away from the screen no matter how boring it was, Lance eyed it steadily. 

“When we were on the bridge.” When Keith didn’t get an answer, he tried again. “When Veronica walked in on us.” 

“I didn’t walk in on you guys,” Veronica whispered from behind them.

“When did you…” Lance sighed. “You know what, never mind.” 

“Wait,” Keith hurried after Lance as they exited the conference. They weren’t presenting anything and already knew what was going to be said. As they finally made it out of the large conference room, Keith caught Lance by the arm. “What the heck is happening with you?” 

“Me?” Puffing up a bit, ready for a fight, Lance calmed himself. “You know what, no. I don’t have to tell you.” 

“What are you talking about?” Keith rushed out. 

“What’s going on?” Pidge’s voice caught them, with Veronica beside her. Both looking a little worried.

“Why are you guys here?” Lance lashed out at them. “Shouldn’t you be in the meeting?”

“We both know what’s going on in there.” Veronica pointed out. “What we don’t know, is what’s going on out here?”

“I just… I need to be by myself.” Throwing a hand over his shoulder Lance walked one way.

Veronica gave a quick glance over at Pidge and followed her brother’s path, leaving Pidge and Keith there. Keith let out a sigh.

“Wanna grab some food before everyone else?” Pidge offered.

“Sure,” Keith grumbled, heading towards the dining hall, picking up some of the food before returning to Pidge’s quarters. They sat at the table.

“So,” Pidge drew out the sound, “wanna talk about it?” 

“I just don’t get what’s going on.” Not hungry at all, Keith practically threw down his fork. “One second, he’s fine and we’re fine, the next he’s throwing a fit and walking the other way. And any time I try talking to him about it, he talks about something else or distracts me.” 

“You try and talk about stuff?” Teasing her friend a bit, Pidge saw his distress and tried to alleviate it. “Do you ever think that there’s a pattern when Lance gets like this?” 

Heaving a large sigh, Keith leaned back and crossed his arms in front of him. “Pidge, I get it okay?” 

“Get what?” She pressed.

It took a moment and Keith's head tipped back a bit but he answered all the same, “I know Lance… he… he has... He likes me.” 

“Everyone likes you,” Unrelenting, Pidge decided to keep going, “I mean, some Beings probably don’t as you have a killer punch.” 

“Pidge.” A look.

“Keith.” Another and Pidge commented, “I have a brother, you’re not going to win this, only child.” A correction. “Or you didn’t have to grow up with your sister.” 

“I just can’t think about it right now.” Keith went on as if the exchange hadn’t happened. “Like if we were on Earth and everything was normal maybe…” 

“You would still act like an emotionally stunted twenty-something?” She guessed. 

“You really suck at this.” 

“Listen,” letting up a bit, Pidge explained her side. “I get what you’re trying to say. But Lance has been struggling with this for a while and you’re not going easy on him.” 

“It’s not like it’s been easy for me either.” He grumbled. 

“So you... don’t like Lance?” Trying to read her friend completely, Pidge sorted out what she could with what he was telling her and his body language. It was more difficult than she thought it would be. 

“That’s not it.” His eyes snapped back to hers and then looked away at being caught when hers widened. “It’s that, we’re in the middle of this huge war, that’s legit life or death and right now is not the greatest time to deal with any of this.” 

“Don’t you think you deserve a little happiness in all of this, Keith?” Pidge asked quietly. 

“Listen,” resting his forearms on the table, Keith needed to explain his side of things, “I think we all deserve happiness during this fight. However, we also need to be a little realistic here. If we emote too much, it will get in the way of all of this. And being the Black Paladin doesn’t really leave a ton of room to get emotional.”

“You’re thinking that admitting you like someone or getting involved with them will hinder your abilities as a leader?” Parsing this mess out bit by bit, Pidge tried to see the reason behind it all. “Like if something bad happens then hiding your emotions or those of your colleagues would be able to see past that and think logically behind issues?” 

“Yeah.” 

Thinking for a moment, Pidge nodded and told him, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” 

“Listen,” feeling a pulse at his temple, Keith sighed. “You deal with things your way, and I’ll deal with mine.” 

“So dumb.” She rolled her eyes at the luck of her found family. 

“I know, but let me deal with it.” 

“Fine.” 

“Thanks.” 

“No problem.” Pidge grumped. 

“Hey, Pidge?” Keith ventured. 

“What?” 

“Can you...” he started, “Can you not tell Lance about this?” 

“Fine.” Shaking her head, Pidge decided. “You owe me though.” 

“I figured.” 

Back in the conference room, the dishes were finally being served by Hunk and those who helped out in the kitchen, aka the Beings he could trust. And Allura was getting tired. She and Lotor had been up with Nyssa for much of the night and this meeting, while not going terribly, wasn’t ideal. 

“Allura,” Shiro leaned over to her, “go head back. Coran or I can fill you in later.” 

“We’re almost at a stopping point.” She whispered back. “I can make it at least through a couple of the courses before we break until tomorrow.” 

“Do you need a sleeping tonic for tonight?” He asked her gently. 

“Truthfully,” she sighed. “After last night, I believe I’ll be fine.” 

Giving a slight nod, Shiro told her, “After dinner, I’m going to call it until tomorrow to do any closing information.” 

“Fine by me.” The relief was visible on her face and Shiro chuckled a bit. 

“I’m calling it.” Standing, Shiro got everyone’s attention. “Thank you all again for coming. We want to let you know after you are finished, please feel free to tour the main part of the ship and stay to chat. Tomorrow we will start as soon as the star rises over Arus.” 

There was a bit of clamoring but some Beings stayed, content to finish their meals with friends and others hurried back to their ships or to tour around the Atlas. The Coalition groups heading up their whole circle, which Shiro joined. Allura, on the other hand, left. 

Allura walked back to her quarters, exhausted after meeting with the various heads of the Freed Planets and then some. She appreciated the passion everyone had but had wished for more, what was that Earth drink called… coffee, she could have used some more of that. Hearing a shriek of laughter, followed by a thump, Allura began to walk a little faster to the chambers.

Rounding the corner, Allura wished she could have captured this moment. Lotor on the ground with Nyssa sitting on top of him bouncing triumphantly. Holding in her own laughter, Allura approached them and sat next to Lotor’s sprawled out body. 

“I take it she won?” She ventured.

“Undoubtedly.” Lotor agreed with a huff as Nyssa pressed down on his chest more. “She’ll make a fine combat fighter one day.” 

“Hopefully, she won’t have to be.” Allura sighed and laid down beside him, exhaustion taking over. “Though with the new allegiances, who knows.” 

“The talks were as expected?” He asked as Nyssa sprawled out on him and began to bunch the fabric on his shirt distracting herself.

“Of course.” There was no use in lying, he would either find out from various conversations or Shiro would tell him. “Everyone is much more cautious now, they’re not as willing to give over troops.” 

“They’re worried Voltron will disappear again.” It was an easy guess. 

“And the Galra’s… Haggar’s new weapon, apart from the Robeast,” Allura nodded. “No one is exactly sure what it does yet, but we know that she’s gathering Galra generals and old allies. We don’t exactly have any bargaining chips.” 

“What are the numbers?” He asked.

“Once we free at least the next two quadrants, forces should be comparable.” She sighed. “We would only be outnumbered by ten percent of who are able to fight.” 

“Your odds need to be better than that.” Lotor shook his head, absentmindedly giving Nyssa a soft pig plush playing between him and Allura. “You’re dealing much more than one   
massive robot and a few homicidal maniacs.” 

Giving him a withering look, she continued, “And where would I get that number from? Arus?”

“Gods no.” He chuckled and thought for a moment. “What about the Humans?”

“They would have been destroyed if we hadn’t stepped in to help them with Sendek.” It was a ludicrous thought. “Besides they are housing refugees there. I wouldn’t want to uproot anyone again.”

“I think you’re underestimating them.” His gaze turned to the small child on his chest. “I’ve been reading Earth’s history and I believe they would have improved their defenses since your battle. Plus they would be fresh, willing to fight. The Alliance has been waging war for centuries now and is tired of it.” 

“I would rather keep them out of this.” 

“All of your Paladins are from Earth.” He pointed out. “I don’t think their more primitive tendencies have disappeared any more than Galra or Altean.” 

“Meaning?” She turned her head towards him.

“There is, or has been, violence in every civilization no matter how peaceful they are now.” Stroking his daughter’s curled white hair, he continued. “Earthlings were quite ruthless for deca-phoebs, and with what I’ve seen from the Paladins and other Earthlings, I don’t think that baser instinct has stopped from their more primitive period.” 

“That’s morbid.” Allura sighed. 

“Survival, Princess.” He somewhat teased. “It’s what Beings do best.” 

“Or perhaps the survival aspect is just an excuse to keep the masses in check and continuously subjugate others in the name of survival.” Thinking back a bit, Allura let the next few thoughts fly from her mind. “The Earthlings still suppress others, though I’m assured it has gotten better. The Galra, Alteans, even Olkarians, we have all suppressed masses at some point. I suppose the true question is how do we step away from that mindset? How do we eradicate it from existence?”

“I think your mother is experiencing latent Quintessence effects.” Lotor bluntly told his child. 

“And I think you’ve enjoyed being on top for so long, you haven’t thought otherwise.” 

He dared. “You haven’t?”

Thinking for a moment, Allura nodded. “I have been lucky. But I realize that perhaps all of it was for not. My planet, my people were still destroyed because of power. If we had caught it in time, our lives, our universe could be infinitely better.” 

“It is with every wish I hope you are right.” His attention was back on her. “You are a skilled diplomat, I don’t doubt you would be able to bring peace with time.”

Nyssa moved her small body up and rubbed her face into the side of his neck where one of his scent glands hid. Curling up, she gave a content sigh. The parents watched in fascination.

“I can’t believe she has warmed up to you so quickly.” Rubbing the girl’s back, Allura saw the doubtful look on his face. “You can’t say you’re not surprised either.” 

“It’s the scent.” Lotor held the girl steady. “Galra are more prone to recognize family members by scent alone. I was told it was an evolutionary holdover but I think it continued since the Galra were at war a for the past deca-phoebs, children would often not see their parents for a long time so scent may be the only way to acknowledge family members.” 

“I knew scent was important but I thought it was more… recreational.” Allura said carefully. Their relationship had yet to go back to what it had been but it was more of a working co-parenting relationship. It probably also didn’t help between their free time was spent with Nyssa and the other Paladins. Moments alone were still rare.

“For Alteans.” He shrugged. “But Galra can tell more than for occasional comfort or otherwise.” 

“Like what?” Interested, Allura pushed herself to rest her head on a fist to look at him. 

Lotor gave a long pause and gave a side glance at her before answering. “We certainly can tell when one is sick or unwell in some way, half-breed or, let’s say, in their prime?” 

“Prime for what?” Allura guessed. “A fight?” 

“That.” He gave it to her and decided to just spit it out. “And to mate.” 

“Oh!” Her eyes widened slightly, realizing he was trying to be polite and then quickly realized something else. “Wait. So you knew that… when…” She tried again. “You knew when we were in the Rift then?” 

“I told you, I wanted to wait.” Not being able to hold back the smirk, he waited until Allura looked like she wanted to hit him, so he carefully stated, “Wait until Nyssa is in her crib and you can ruin me all you want.” 

They seemed to both realize what he had said at the same time as they burst into laughter. Shocking Nyssa a bit, she whimpered as Lotor sat up and Allura followed suit. Wordlessly, they got up and walked over to Nyssa’s sleep pod and put her in with a little fight as she fell asleep quickly. Lotor’s large hand encompassed her entire body and seemed to lull Nyssa into a state of calmness.

“We’ve been alongside the Humans for too long,” Allura said quietly.

“Agreed.” He nodded. 

“But it’s not terrible.”

“Agreed.”

The two rulers looked at each other, lost in their gazes for a moment. It was quiet, serene. They were just speaking of politics, theories, everything like it was in the past but with a different appreciation, a more mature, deeper appreciation for their thoughts. Neither knew where it would lead at this point but both knew they did not want to let it go. 

A knock at the door broke them from their trance. Allura called to the intruder. “Come in!” 

“Hey, guys!” Lance cheerfully came through the door and looked to Lotor. “Ready?” 

“For what?” Allura asked as Lotor stood.

“I’m training with Lance today.” He stated. 

“What about Shiro?” Her brows furrowed in confusion. 

“Giving him a break.” Lance waved it off. “Plus, Shiro’s busy with getting the rest of the Alliance people out of here, and I volunteered.” 

“Oh?” Allura crossed her arms. Cautious, as Lance always seemed a bit more emotionally protective than Shiro. 

“Relax.” Lance threw a hand down on Lotor’s back, which the other Being stood stock still in confusion. “We’re just going to go through some drills and since Lotor breezed by the all the simulators, I thought it would be good to work on some team building exercises.” 

Looking between the two, Allura shrugged and said. “Have fun.” 

It was an hour or two later that Lotor was panting heavily as Lance sat down next to him. There was one point, he thought the Red Paladin was indeed just the sharpshooter he proclaimed himself to be. However, apparently, he had learned some new tricks. 

“Well,” Lance was also out of breath. “I think that went well. How are you feeling?” 

“I’m surprised my leg was able to last this long.” For the sake of honestly, Lotor spoke.

“Pidge knows what she’s doing for sure.” Lance nodded in agreement, then paused before saying. “You and Allura seem to be really good at this co-parenting thing.” 

Peering at the Paladin out of the corner of his eye, Lotor wanted to know his intention so he said, “Children are to be cherished and Nyssa has had excellent care thus far, I only wish to continue to provide for her as I was not in the beginning.” 

“To be fair,” Lance started, “we all thought you were dead, so there’s not a ton of fault on your part.” 

“I would have preferred to have been there for Allura.” Was all Lotor said. He didn’t want to indulge the Paladin too much, but hopefully, that would suffice for now.

There was a pause before Lance asked, “Did Allura tell you about Nyssa’s birth?” 

While childbirth, rearing and the like was a fairly normal topic amongst family members, friends or acquaintances rarely spoke about it. Perhaps it was a turn in their relationship, a good turn, but Lotor still remained on high alert. 

“No.” Lotor wiped the sweat coming down. “She didn’t.” 

“Oh.” Lance hummed a bit before going on. “She wouldn’t.” 

Another pause. Perhaps because Lance probably felt he had said too much or it was a sensitive topic. However, it made Lotor’s skin crawl. Pregnancies were, of course, crucial times for mates. But the way Lance’s eyes shifted around the room and his sudden stiff posture, Lotor knew there was something he wanted to say further. 

“Nyssa,” Lotor began, “there was something wrong.” 

Lance bit his lip and then answered him. “Nyssa had to be delivered early, some kind of fetal distress, which of course Allura didn’t want. But since the doctors couldn’t really understand all the workings of Altean anatomy, and we hadn’t found the Altean doctor yet, they got some things wrong.”

“Such as?” Feeling pinpricks go up his spine, Lotor stilled. He had a feeling he knew what he was going to hear next and waited.

“The reason why Nyssa had complications,” Lance shrugged. “She had been healthy all along but then the moment something just… happened. Like a switch, you know? And she wanted to come out at thirty- five weeks.” 

While he didn’t know, Lotor just nodded, taking in the information.

“And Allura was okay. You know the usual aches and pains of course but she handled them really well.” Lance tried complimenting but then hesitated again. “Except… it was a week or so after and she just… went down this spiral.” It was like he was back in the room from the distant look in his blue eyes. “There was so much blood…” 

Lotor ran his fingers through his hair and stood. Immediately he began to pace. 

“Hey!” Watching the male from his position, Lance asked. “You okay?” 

“I should’ve been there.” He seethed. 

“I mean, yeah.” Lance nodded. “But you couldn’t. You were in the rift thing.” 

“Nyssa was distressed because of me!” Whipping around, Lotor pointed to himself. “Allura almost died because of me!” 

“If you count getting her pregnant, I guess I can see the logic.” Unsure of where this was going, Lance stood. “But everything is fine…” 

“No!” His voice rumbled and he caught himself. Gathering his words, Lotor continued. “In… Galra fetuses need the attendance of their sires to fully form. If their sires aren’t there the fetus going into stress and is often not… viable.” 

“Wait,” Lance paused. “So you mean, Nyssa should’ve died, just because you weren’t there?” 

Lotor didn’t answer but instead said. “While we may be a warring race, we do let sires go to their mates when they are ready to deliver and it is encouraged to be with them to populate the purest form of our species.” A sudden stop and then an admittance. “My father was barely around when my mother was pregnant, it caused her… stress.” 

“Oh.” Seeing the strain it took to get that out, Lance sympathized and tried to look at it a different way. “But they’re both healthy now.” 

“The only reason Nyssa most likely survived was due to her mixed genealogy.” It was more to himself than anything else. Another thought. “But Allura’s distress was absolutely a result of my not being there.” 

“Okay, wait.” Feeling a need to stop the male before this spiraled too much, Lance paused him. “Just because you’re not there doesn’t mean everything was terrible. They survived, they’re fine.” 

Collecting his information, Lotor told Lance calmly. “While true now, the point of procreation is for the mates to act as a unit and to be there for another as they bring life into the universe. In the majority of races across the universe, the sire needs to be present in the birth at the very least, in most cases, they need to be there to care for their mate for the duration of gestation. Alteans, in particular, require their mates to be there.” 

“What happens if they’re not?” Though he felt like he knew the answer, Lance had to check. 

“It’s more difficult for the carrier,” Attempting to be a little more technical and less emotional, Lotor went on. “Alteans while may be able to keep the child alive, their downfall becomes trying to make up for the absence of the mate. The time spent on the child, causes them to lose track of their own needs.” 

“Even if something is wrong, they wouldn’t notice.” Finishing the rest for himself, Lance looked up to Lotor after thinking about the times Allura seemed completely absent and would often mindlessly worry over Nyssa. “Then, how did Allura… survive?” 

“The fact she had you and the other Paladins would have help.” He gave a sad smile. “If it had not been for you and the rest, I doubt they would be here.” A pause. “Of which, I am eternally grateful for.” 

Lance took the compliment. Then told him, “You know, even in her lowest... episodes, she would cry out for you. None of us knew what to do. I think Keith took it the worst because he had ordered for us to leave you.” 

“It was best that you did.” He admitted. 

“You don’t mean that.” 

“Now I don’t,” Lotor nodded. “But then I was quite willing to die there. No good has ever come of that place. It would have been fitting. I was born there and should have died there.” 

“But Haggar saved you,” Lance filled in some gaps. “I’m glad she did.” 

A brow lifted. “I was under the impression you despise me.” 

“Yeah, well, people change.” He offered. “I mean, I had a crush on Allura, of course, I didn’t like you. But I realized she wasn’t the one for me.” 

“And the Black Paladin is.” Lotor saw the blush adorn Lance’s cheeks. “That was too forward.” 

“Yep, man, it was.” Lance nodded. “So you want to be with Allura.” 

“Payback?” He ventured.

“Tit for tat.” 

Accepting the Earth saying, Lotor collected his thoughts before answering. “I doubt she would see the sense in having me as a mate. I can only accept what she is willing to give me and having Nyssa is enough.” 

“Is it?” Lance asked. “Like seriously, is it enough just to be there? What if Allura finds someone else and you just see Nyssa?” 

“I would have to accept her choices.” There was a flair of jealousy at the thought, but he tampered it down. It would be of no use to him if he were to become envious of the Being who would win her heart. 

“Bullshit.” Calling it as he saw it, Lance gave a dead stare. “I cannot see you being cool with some guy walking up to Allura and kissing her.” 

“She also has to do to what’s best for her, Nyssa, and her people.” The very description made him grit his teeth. 

“You’re an idiot.” Lance declared. “Allura basically jumped out of her seat when Acxa said she thought she saw you. And every time you walk into a room, her eyes go straight to you. Don’t tell me she doesn’t have feelings for you and you don’t have feelings for her.” 

“I never said I didn’t.” He was caught by the way Lance was looking at him. Giving a sigh, he admitted. “I couldn’t ask her to be mates.” 

“Why?” 

“I am concerned she would say yes for the wrong reasons.” Not truly understanding why he was pouring out his emotions to the man next to him, Lotor sighed and let it happen. 

“So you guys are dating?” Seeing the confusion, Lance corrected himself. “You’re courting?” 

“No.” The word sounded dull in his mouth.

“Except you two are around each other like all the time.” Lance rolled his eyes. “You are actually talking to each other about more than just diplomatic or science stuff, like Nyssa and what happened before.” 

“Yes.” Unsure of what conclusions the other was coming to, Lotor let him continue. “But there is still much to discuss.” 

“There’s always more to talk about.” He waved it off. “And you two are always making googly eyes at each other across the room, it’s like bam and everyone notices.” 

“It doesn’t mean we’re courting or mated,” Lotor said slowly.

“Dude, seriously,” Lance gave a look. “You guys are headed on the right path.”

Taking the information in for a moment, Lotor then asked. “And you and your paramour, are you to be… dating soon?” 

“If he wasn’t such an idiot,” Lance smirked. “We would’ve been deca-phoebs years ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So sorry for last week! I promise to be up and running next week. I keep forgetting how hectic life can be when starting a new job and finishing projects can be... so please excuse any mistakes. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!! I promise we'll get to some action soon ;)
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> EV


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